


Rescue me

by Asimanthii



Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: Action, Angst, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Romance, Smut, legacies 2x16
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-20
Updated: 2021-01-01
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:47:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 54,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24280831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Asimanthii/pseuds/Asimanthii
Summary: Hizzie fanfic placed right after 2x16. Hope is asleep, trapped in her own mind. In an effort to save her, Lizzie enters her subconscious. Will she manage to bring her back?  And maybe take a glimpse of her deepest, darkest secrets in the process.Angsty,funny, and a little fluffy hizzie story. Eventually smut. Possibly minor Jasie.
Relationships: Hope Mikaelson/Lizzie Saltzman, Jade & Josie Saltzman
Comments: 104
Kudos: 345





	1. What's on your mind?

## Chapter 1 - What's on your mind?

The Salvatore school was quiet. Painfully quiet. Somewhere between Lizzie's fake funeral and the quest for Josie's lost soul, everyone was just too tired for something as plain as classes. Alaric was in the cellar with Raf, trying to figure out why Landon hasn't wake up yet. Josie spent every moment since she got back _locked_ in her room. Socialization wasn't something she was ready for right now. And then there was Hope. She hadn't wake up either and nobody knew why.

Lizzie walked in Ric's office and closed the door behind her. She made sure she was alone in the room before she pulled a book from the library, revealing the hidden armory along with the sleeping tribrid. Lizzie stood still for a second. The figure of her friend laying there unconscious in a pullout, not knowing when or whether she'll wake up was making her sick in the stomach. She shook her head to discard the thought and took a few steps to reach the side of the bed. She pulled a chair and sat next to Hope's expressionless face. _She looks so peaceful._

_"Enough with the drama, Hope. Devilish, twin murderous Josie is gone, I had my dream funeral and a much needed, outstanding comeback, everyone is safe. Well, I guess your hobbit isn't exactly safe right now but I'm sure he'll be fine. That boy comes back from the dead faster than Sara Lance. Okay, I may put up with you the last few weeks but if you tell MG I'm watching nerd shows, it's over."_

Lizzie stared at her friend for a moment.

 _"Okay, now you're just pissing me off. WE GET IT, Hope, you saved the day, again."_ she frowned.

 _"C'mon just.. just wake up."_ she said, this time with a much lower voice almost as if she was begging.

Josie cleared her throat to make sure her sister was aware of her presence, she was too captivated by the sleeping tribrid to notice she was standing there for a while. Lizzie jumped to her feet like her twin just caught committing a crime.

 _"What are you doing here?"_ Lizzie sounded more guilty than she should be.

 _"I was looking for dad."_ claimed Josie.

 _"Yeah, me too."_ she lied to avoid any further questions. The brunette looked at Hope for a moment.

_"She is going to be okay."_

_"Whatever."_ Lizzie shrugged crossing her arms like she couldn't care less for her friend's safety.

 _"She is."_ she repeated, ignoring her sister's efforts to seem cool about it. _"She always finds a way."_

 _"What if she won't this time?"_ Lizzie sounded more concern than she was going for.

She took a deep breath, and continued, her voice more stable this time.

_"What if she needs our help to come back from where her mind's been trapped?"_

_"What do you mean? What can we do?"_

_"I don't know, she's the one coming up with plans. Maybe she's still in your subconscious. You said **dark you,** turned her into stone. Maybe that's how we save her."_

Josie listened to her sister unsure. The events of the past few days were not yet washed away and she was terrified of hurting anyone she loves.

_"Look, Lizzie, I want to help Hope as much as you do but I can't get involved with magic just yet. I need time to heal. I put my siphon powers into a coin until I'm ready to use them again."_

_"What about Hope? She's the reason you and I can talk right now without the fear of you tearing my throat."_ there was that desperation in the blonde's voice again.

Josie directed her glance at the floor and Lizzie instantly regretted yelling at her twin.

_"I'm sorry, we've all been through a lot. I would never ask you to cross your limits to save Hope."_

The shorter girl exhaled in relief.

 _"Which is why I will."_ Lizzie spat out dead serious.

And like that the relief was gone again.

_"You can't! Wh- What would you even do in my subconscious?"_

_"Are you kidding? I ain't going in a fairytale! Do what? Hang out with the three little pigs?"_

_"For the last time, I-"_

_"I'm going to hers."_ Lizzie said as she turned her head to point Hope with her eyes.

 _"What's even more dangerous"_ Josie complained. _"I won't let you do that."_

_"It's a good thing I'm not asking for your permission, then."_

_"Lizzie please, we've been through enough already."_

_"And need I remind you who's mainly responsible we are still standing? She didn't hesitate for a second to go into your mind. To save you. And you were possessed by an evil, black wearing self. Hope is just Hope. I'll be fine."_

_"But dad won't-"_

_"Daddy doesn't need to know."_

_"But-"_

_"She got us through the merge. Like it or not, we owe it to her."_

Josie looked at Hope, then back at her sister with uncertainty. She finally gave in.

_"Uh, okay, fine. How do we do this?"_

_"I'll go get MG to do his thing and take me into her mind, like he did with you during the merge. You make sure no one gets in here till I get back."_

Twenty minutes later the three students were locked in the secret armory, next to their laying friend. MG grabbed gently Hope's hand and extended his other towards Lizzie, who was now sitting on the chair near the bed.

"Are you sure?"

 _"That's the hero move, right?"_ she shrugged and winked at the vampire.

MG smiled cautiously and nodded. _"Let's do this."_

Lizzie touched his hand and closed her eyes. And everything went dark.

* * *

_"Well, that's anticlimactic!"_

Lizzie opened her eyes and looked around. She found herself at the start of a white hallway so long that she couldn't quite reach the end of it with bare eyes. White doors dominated to the left and right side of the wall, all the way till the finish line.

 _"Jesus, Hope, even your subconscious is compulsive. Where am I supposed to start?"_ she frowned and started walking ahead. She stopped after a few minutes.

 _"Fuck it, I don't have all day, I'm already here, I might as well open one of them."_ she growled and entered the door to her left.

She suddenly found herself in a grass field, the only sources of light, was the moon and the two parked cars on the thin line of road in a distance. Lizzie moved closer to see two figures, a male and a female, talking in front of their opposite parked vehicles.

 _"She looks like her mother"_ said the woman in British accent. Lizzie couldn't place the voice to a face.

 _"Maybe there is a God after all."_ she continued softly.

The siphon stepped closer until she realized the man was holding a baby in his arms. Not just any man. Klaus Mikaelson. Not just any baby. Hope.

 _"She has a hint of the devil in her eyes. That's all me."_ he stated somewhat proud of his daughter.

Lizzie stood there, watching the entire heartfelt moment, from really close. She got distracted when she noticed baby Hope was looking towards her smiling and laughing from the bottom of her heart. She tried to make funny faces to make her laugh harder, when she realized how foolish that was, since nobody could actually see her here. _She always had a way with people._ Lizzie admitted to herself. Maybe that's why she despised her so much in the past. But seeing her right now, this was the last feeling on the blonde's list.

 _"She will be happy, Nik, I promise."_ said Rebekah. _"What's her name?"_

 _"Hope. Her name is Hope."_ Klaus returned with a bittersweet smile on his face.

Even Lizzie could feel his pain for having to say goodbye to his daughter. _I shouldn't be here_ , she thought and in a matter of seconds she was back in the hallway.

 _"Well, that was emotional!"_ she said ironically in an attempt to ignore how emotional she actually was about this. _Maybe her memories are placed in chronological order. I should start walking._

Lizzie was just pissed now. She wasn't even halfway through after all those miles she had walked. She took a deep breath. It was seventeen years worth of memories, after all. She decided to open another door.

It was five-year-old Hope with her mom, in the yard of their big house. She was painting in her sketchbook while Hayley was sitting right next to her, reading a book. _They look so happy. Maybe I should leave them to it._ She closed the door behind her with a smile drawn in the corner of her lips this time.

 _Let's keep going, she must be here somewhere._ About a thousand memories later, Lizzie cracked another door open. As soon as she witnessed Landon and Hope about to hook up on a cheap motel bed she goggled in disgust and slammed the door, making her way to the hall once again.

_"Gross."_

The witch walked a few more meters until she decided to get a glimpse of another highlight of Hope's life. She entered her friend's bedroom at the Salvatore school. The tribrid was walking anxious back and forth on the one side of the bed and Lizzie saw a blonde's back opposite to her, sitting on the foot of it.

 _"Listen, this is... uh... no."_ Hope scratched her forehead trying to find her next words.

_I've never seen her so uneasy, so nervous. Who is she talking to anyway?_

_"What I wanted to say is... fuck, why is this so hard?"_ Hope beated herself up.

She made her way next to her friend and her jaw dropped when she saw. _How is this possible?_

_"Look, Lizzie, I know we're friends..."_

_"-Ish."_ said both standing Lizzie and the one sitting on the bed.

 _"Wait, I don't remember this happening."_ she said doubtful, _"When was that? Why don't I remember this?"_ the blonde started panicking.

And then she saw it. Hope was holding the prism that the siphon herself had given to her. _But why would Hope summon and talk to a holographic me?_

 _"Whatever. What I'm trying to say is... God, I suck at this... Why can't I just say it, you're not even the real Lizzie."_ the shorter girl ranted as she hid her face in her palms and joined her in the bed.

 _"Just admit it, Hope, you like me."_ shrugged the hologram with the same convenience the real one would have.

Lizzie looked at her own reflection speechless. Then she turned to Hope, waiting for her to deny the accusation. But she didn't. Instead she took a deep breath and finally spoke.

_"It's not that easy, okay? You know Lizzie. If I told her nothing between us would be the same ever again. And then there's Landon..."_

_"Oh, please, do not compare me to your human-sized Muppet elf."_ she said and Lizzie shook her head processing it, because truth be told, she couldn't argue with her clone. _At least it's nice to know that my projection in Hope's mind is accurate._

_"See, you say things like that and you expect me to go and talk to her? You?"_

_" Will you?"_

_"No."_

_"Then why are you practicing on me?"_

_"I'm not.. practicing."_ she explained. _"I just thought that if I could say the words to you.. maybe the feeling would go away."_

_"And how's that going for you?"_

_"Not good."_

_"S'what I thought. You should tell her. She's not that great herself, you know."_

_"Hey, I would never say such thing!"_ Lizzie protested as if she could be part of the conversation.

 _"Lizzie would never say that."_ Hope said, rolling her eyes.

 _"I know."_ shrugged the hologram, _" I'm just trying to convince you to make your move."_

_"Why do you care?"_

_"Cause you do. I **am** you."_

Hope wavered for a bit _. "What do you think she would say?"_

Lizzie stared at her reflection, suddenly forgetting how to breathe, waiting for an answer because, frankly, if this was actually her, she wouldn't know how to respond.

_"I can't give you the answer. Only she can."_

_"Wanna bet?"_ Lizzie raised her eyebrow.

Both girls seemed pretty disappointed with the hologram's statement.

But it continued anyway _. "You have to find out on your own."_

_"Then I guess I won't!" Hope yelled and threw the prism across the room._

_"Fuck."_ she hid her face inside her hands once again and let her upper body fall onto the bed.

Lizzie was observing her without knowing what to say, how to feel. Suddenly she sensed a pang of guilt for invading Hope's privacy. She quickly left the room but what had just happened in it, couldn't get out of her mind. _How ironic._ She decided not to enter another door, another personal memory, no matter how bad she wanted to, until it was absolutely necessary.

After a couple more miles, Lizzie was able to see the end of the hallway clear. It was a shabby, red, wooden door, unlike any other and the siphon knew what she had to do.

She walked through the entrance and the creak gave chills to her entire body. She found herself in Mystic Falls' cemetery. The fog made it even harder for her to see, as if the moonlight's limited source wasn't enough. After a few steps she was standing in front of a big, family grave. Alaric Saltzman, beloved father. _Oh, my God._ Lizzie gasped but she wasn't completely freaked out until she saw the two names below. _Josette Olivia Saltzman and Elizabeth Jenna Saltzman._

 _"Alright, Hope, your subconscious is officially freaking me out! Time's up, you can come out now."_ the blonde witch called out almost shaking but no answer came. 

She started looking for the tribrid and noticed that every single gravestone had written a friend's name on it. Milton Greasley, Kaleb Hawkins, Landon Kirby. Even Alyssa Chang. And there was Hope, sitting under an almost completely naked tree, her hands tightly hugging her knees, head down, bawling her eyes out. The image caused actual physical pain to Lizzie's chest. She ran and kneeled in front of her.

 _"Hey, hey, it's okay, I'm here."_ she tried to comfort her, placing her hands, on top of each of the other girl's knees.

Hope jolted in the touch. She faced her friend with tears still falling from her eyes.

_"Lizzie? No, that can't be real."_

_"It is, it's me, Hope. I'm here to get you out of... whatever this is."_ Lizzie said taking a look around.

 _"No, you... you're dead. Everyone I care about is dead. I couldn't protect anyone."_ Hope lowered her head again.

 _"Of course, your greatest fear is not being able to save everyone. That's so you."_ Lizzie rolled her eyes and picked softly the girl's face up in her hands, before she could drown in her sorrows again.

 _"Look at me, Hope. None of this is real. I am. We're at your subconscious and apparently, you're imagining us all dead."_ Hope cracked a wet smile at her friend's joke and Lizzie wiped the shorter girl's tears away with her thumbs.

 _"Let's get the hell outta here, yeah?"_ she continued softly and helped the tribrid stand up.

 _"It's really you?"_ Hope asked but she didn't wait for an answer, instead she embraced Lizzie in a hug so tight, the siphon could feel her ribs moving but she didn't mind.

 _I missed you, Hope Andrea Mikaelson_ , is what she wanted to say but instead, she spat;

_"S'enough, we gotta get back home."_

_"Okay, how do we do this?"_

_"How should I know, I don't have a manual for your mind, Hope."_

_"Wait, you came in here without a plan for getting out?"_ she crossed her arms in doubt.

 _"You're the planner, I'm the... executor."_ Lizzie shrugged.

_"Ugh, okay, let's... let's go through that door and we go from there."_

_"See? Planner."_

Hope gave her a look but let it slide. They moved towards the exit but when they got close enough, they saw a massive figure standing in front of them, blocking their way out.

 _"Shit, the Merman."_ Hope gasped.

_"Mer- what?"_

_"I fought this monster back when we went to Landon's rescue with your father."_

_"Uh-oh."_

_"Oh, don't 'uh-oh' me. What is it?"_ Hope panicked.

_"I'm pretty sure I accidentally released him from a memory of you and Landon hooking up in a motel there."_

_"Lizzie!"_

_"I closed the door immediately! I'm scarred for life!"_

_"Well, you let him out."_

_"It's just a giant fish, Hope, we've faced worse."_

The monster growled and started moving towards them. Both girls screamed and started running for their lives, the merman following them in a close distance.

* * *

 _"Why is it taking so long?"_ Josie asked beyond nervous.

 _"Relax, sit down for a second, everything is gonna be fine, Lizzie's got this, Jo."_ MG comforted her.

 _"I shouldn't have let her go."_ Josie was freaking out now.

 _"Don't worry, they'll both be fi-"_ Milton got interrupted by both the unconscious girls seizing.

_"What's happening, why are they crashing?"_

_"I- I don't know..."_ MG said extremely shaken this time.

 _"What do you mean you don't know? Get them out, MG!"_ Jo was now yelling.

_"I... I can't! I'm not strong enough."_

_"What does that mean?"_ Josie was this close to lose it.

_"They are on their own."_


	2. Save yourself

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for getting past the first chapter! This is a new story (my first fanfic) and I hope you enjoy it! I'll be happy to hear from you in the comments!

## Capter 2 - Save yourself

The two girls were running through the cemetery, hoping that the monster would lose them between those graves. Half an hour had passed by, when they found a tomb and got in to catch their breaths.

 _"Do you think he lost us?"_ asked panting Lizzie.

 _"Even if he did, how long until he finds us again? We need a plan."_ Hope returned.

_"Okay, how about you distract him and I run?"_

_"How about I hold you while he eats you?"_

_"Okay, you made your point. What if we just split up and try to make it to the exit? He can't chase us both."_ Lizzie offered seriously this time.

 _"Absolutely not. I won't risk-"_ Hope left the sentence unfinished.

_"What?"_

_"Nothing. It's just safer this way."_ she explained.

 _"You're worried I won't make it."_ realized Lizzie. _"I may not be a tribrid like you, Hope, but I manage."_ she said disturbed.

 _"That's not-"_ Hope tried to fix it, _"It's not what I meant. I know you're strong. Hell, you came all the way here to rescue me. Lizzie, that's the strongest I've ever seen you."_

The tribrid left her speechless for the second time in one day. Their eyes met for something that felt like an eon. Lizzie's blood was boiling inside her, for a second, she forgot about the monster, about the fact that they were trapped in the other girl's subconscious. Hope was the only thing that mattered in that moment. The hologram's words came back violently in the syphon's head. _Just admit it, Hope, you like me_. Lizzie was the one who broke the contact first, she needed to collect her thoughts, come up with something, and looking at the older girl was the greatest distraction.

 _"We need to split up."_ insisted the witch.

 _"We are not doing that."_ Hope fought back.

She took a few steps closer to her friend. She gently took Lizzie's hands into hers and looked her in the eyes.

_"You are strong, Lizzie. But we are stronger together, okay?"_

Lizzie's mind went blank all over again, the only thing she could think about now was how the girl in front of her would taste. Their faces were inches apart and Hope was audaciously looking at the blonde's lips. Lizzie gulped realizing her mouth was completely dry. She bit her lower lip in an attempt to stop herself from doing something stupid but from Hope's reaction, she probably made it worse. _Is she going for a kiss? And why am I not opposed to the idea?_ Lizzie was paralyzed by the tribrid's beauty and she decided not to fight it anymore. She leaned slightly towards Hope's welcoming, half-opened mouth when an inhumanly strong punch in the wall made them both twitch in surprise. In the second hit, rocks started falling from the ceiling.

 _"Come on, we need to go."_ Hope claimed and took Lizzie's hand, leading her outside.

When they were both safely out of the tomb, they took a look around. Nobody there. Suddenly, the monster jumped out of a tree and landed on Hope, knocking her out. Lizzie tried to hit him from the back, but in one push, the merman managed to rifled the girl until she hit her back onto the tree.

 _"Lizzie!"_ screamed Hope, who was gaining her senses again after that fall.

The merman took the tribrid's neck in his hand pressing her carotid artery so hard, the girl could faint. _He's choking her! Think, Lizzie, think._ The witch stood up quickly and threw a rock on the monster's skull, making him turn his attention to her. Shit.

 _"Hey, shithead! Hope's not the only fish in the sea. I know where the urn is! Come and get me."_ she said perkily and started running through the woods. The merman quickly left Hope's neck and disappeared in the fog.

 _"No!"_ Hope touched her neck, where the monster's hands had been and coughed her guts out.

When she found her senses again, she got up and looked around. She couldn't see neither her friend nor the monster nearby. _Damn it, Lizzie._

The siphon was running like hell trying to get away from the sea-beast, and she was doing a pretty good job until she was led to a dead end. She could do nothing but stop and look at the enemy. The monster stopped running as well and started getting closer slowly and sinisterly.

 _"Heeey, buddy."_ Lizzie said in a high-pitched voice. _"What I said before... It wasn't personal or anything... You know, you just tried to choke my friend to death and all.."_ continued, snarky to the bone.

The merman growled and continued his way closer to the blonde. She started stepping back, slow and steady, trying to keep the distance intact.

_"What, I thought you were a paci-fish-t."_

The monster snarled at her and covered the distance between them.

 _"Guess not."_ Lizzie said as her back hit the wall, leaving her trapped, completely at his mercy.

The girl made an 'X' with her hands, covering her face to protect it and closed her eyes, having accepted her fate. The monster took a step back and raised his one hand to gather momentum. As he was rushing to scratch her with his sharp claws, two wolf paws pushed him in the ground forcing him away from her. _Hope_. The two animals started tearing each other apart. Lizzie figured there would be a hint of magic in the ground where all kinds of creatures were buried under. She placed her hand on the land and syphoned the magic out of it, until she was strong enough. She stood up and raised her hand in a fist.

 _"Enough!"_ she said putting the monster to a temporary sleep.

 _"What the hell were you thinking, Hope?"_ Lizzie yelled at the wolf. And even though she couldn't get an answer, she knew Hope well enough to know that the tribrid would claim that she just saved the girl's life and a 'thank you' would be nice.

_"Don't give me that look! Why didn't you just cross that damn door? Why did you come back?"_

The wolf seemed really angry at the witch, but she kept going.

_"You know, I think I get it now. The reason you're stuck here is that you can't stop freaking sacrificing yourself to save others. You say that I'm selfish but **you** are, for not thinking of the consequences of you being dead."_

Hope was growling now.

 _"So, go ahead, Hope, if you wanna die so bad, let me make it easy for you."_ Lizzie rushed to wake the monster but the wolf made her fall to the ground with her body and climbed on top of her, scaring the crap out of the siphon. She stared at her for a moment but seeing the terror in the younger girl's eyes made her weak. She ran off, leaving the witch all alone, once again.

* * *

Josie was shaking in fear, the two girls were crashing several minutes now. She didn't have her powers, she didn't have her dad, she didn't have anything. And MG's attempts to calm her down were making her even more mortified and furious at the same time.

_"Josie-"_

_"Just stop, MG, there's nothing you could say to calm me down right now, my sister and Hope are in danger and we don't know how to handle it."_

_"That's not what I was going to say. Look!"_ the vampire pointed at Lizzie's bloody nose.

_"Oh, God, when did this happen?"_

_"I don't know."_

_"Move."_ Josie checked the other girl's and it seemed fine. _Wait._ Josie helped Hope's body up and immediately blood started falling from the tribrid's nose as well.

_"Fuck. MG, go get my dad, he's in the cellars, find him and bring him here."_

_"But Lizzie said-"_

_" **Now,** MG!"_ Josie was desperate, she wasn't going to let anything bad happen to them.

Milton wavered for a second but he decided to listen to his friend. He instantly vamped out of the room, leaving her alone with the two girls.

* * *

Lizzie stood up, cleared the dust off of her clothes and made her way to the exit, leaving the unconscious monster behind her. When she got there, the door was locked from the inside.

 _"Seriously?"_ Lizzie rolled her eyes and worked through the locker.

She tried to pick it, siphon it, cast a spell on it, nothing worked.

 _"May I?"_ offered Hope, who had changed back in her form, _"Or am I sacrificing myself by picking that locker?"_

 _"Hope..."_ Lizzie tried to calm her down but they were way past that.

 _"Cause the last time I checked, **you** came here to my rescue, not the other way around. So, stop giving me hero speeches, cause I'm not one!" _Hope was furious now.

 _"Okay, fine. You're not a hero. Can we get out of here now?"_ Lizzie tried to put an end to the fight.

Hope passed through the girl to take a look at the locker, without saying another word. The blonde crossed her arms and looked away as a token of her annoyance. Several minutes passed by, until Hope decided to break the silence.

 _"I know what you were trying to do back there, Lizzie."_ claimed, really calm this time. _"Make me angry... angry enough to leave you there."_

_"Well, I guess my plan worked then."_

_"Are you mad at me for leaving after you explicitly told me to leave?"_ she asked sincerely curious.

 _"No."_ Lizzie returned unfolding her arms and taking a step closer. _"I guess I was mad at you for always putting yourself second."_

Hope turned to face her friend, because this was the first time, she'd heard Lizzie talking like that.

 _"I mean, I'm glad my sister is okay, I will always be grateful to you for that. But you scared the hell out of me, dammit."_ Lizzie's eyes started watering slightly, in Hope's greatest surprise.

_"Lizzie, I didn't know-"_

_"Shut up, it's nothing, just don't die."_ Lizzie pulled herself together and crossed her arms again.

Hope placed her hand on the other girl's cheek and looked at her in the eyes.

_"I promise."_

They were once again dangerously close. Hope slowly leaned to her friend and placed a small, innocent kiss on her left cheek. Lizzie had her eyes closed the whole time, needing to feel to the fullest every second of it. Once the shorter girl pulled away, their eyes met and it became clear that both of them needed more. They were craving for each other's touch. Lizzie looked down to Hope's lips and started moving closer when the monster's growl interrupted them once again.

 _"For Cod's sake, don't you have somewhere else to be?"_ Lizzie was done with him.

Hope sighed as disappointed. _"Come on, let's finish him."_

They held hands and started chanting a spell to defeat the merman once and for all.

 _"Imperium fluctus malleus, imperium fluctus malleus."_ the witches repeated a few times until the monster turned into ash, along with the only locker holding them from going home.

 _"I guess we needed to work together, after all."_ Hope said sarcastically.

 _"Hum hum. Let's go home, shell we?"_ Lizzie showed the door to her friend.

 _"Could you stop with the fish jokes?"_ said Hope playfully and passed through it.

_"We'll sea."_

* * *

Hope woke up in a room full of people staring at her. She could hear everyone around her bombing her with questions and welcoming her back, but not a single cell of her body was willing to make a move and respond to them. When they finally decided to give her some space and let her take a breath before the interrogation, Josie noticed that her sister had yet to wake up. And only Josie's words managed to bring the tribrid back to reality.

_"Wait, why is Lizzie still unconscious?"_

They all turned to look at her, including Hope, whose eyes were now wide open as she jumped out of the bed to check on her friend.

 _"What happened in there, Hope?"_ said Alaric extremely concerned about his daughter's safety.

 _"I- I don't know, we were supposed to get back together. I mean go out together. I mean arrive at the same time."_ Hope was panicking.

 _"We got what you meant, Hope, the question is why didn't you?"_ he continued in the same tone.

 _"I have no idea. Let me go back. MG, come here to take me back in there."_ she said determined looking at her terrified headmaster and the even more terrified vampire next to him.

 _"Seriously, Hope? Didn't you learn anything from our little adventure?"_ said Lizzie half-awake, getting everyone's attention.

The two girls exchanged the warmest smiles, ignoring everyone else in the room. They all proceeded to hug the siphon and she let them, without ever taking her eyes off of Hope.

But soon the fun would be over, Lizzie knew that from her dad's infamous you-are-in-trouble face. And of course, she wasn't wrong. Because as soon as Alaric made sure his daughter was safe and sound, he started listing all the reasons why her action was reckless and stupid. But as always, Lizzie chose to ignore him and focus on her sister's mistake.

 _"I told you not to tell him!"_ she complained.

 _"You were dying, Lizzie, what was I supposed to do?"_ Josie tried to justify her decision.

 _"And they call **me** overdramatic."_ returned the blonde sarcastically.

 _"That's enough, girls."_ Alaric put an end to this rather unnecessary argument. _"You're both grounded. And MG, desk job with me for a month."_

MG thought about complaining but he chose to limit his response to 'Yes, Dr. Saltzman' and get the hell out of there.

 _"You're grounding us for waking up Hope? Something you, by the way, hadn't managed to do in weeks."_ Lizzie complained.

 _"You know I was preoccupied, sweetheart."_ said Ric through his teeth, wearing a shy smile, that wasn't fooling anyone, especially Hope.

 _"With what?"_ asked the tribrid curiously, getting everyone's attention.

The room immediately went silent. And like that, Hope knew something was up. She gave her headmaster some time to answer but no one said a word.

 _"With what?"_ she repeated more concerned.

Lizzie felt guilty for not telling her all this time they were in her mind and she took it upon herself to break the news to her clueless friend.

 _"Look, I should have told you before.. Landon is.. I mean, he'll be fine but... he is currently... dead."_ the words came out of her mouth harder than she thought they would.

 _"What do you mean dead? Oh my God, is it because I connected him with you?"_ said Hope on the brink of a breakdown.

 _"No, it's not your fault. The necromancer made Rafael kill him with the golden arrow."_ explained the blonde.

 _"With-"_ Hope gasped in shock. _"Wait, how did h-"_ and then she realized, _"Oh my God, is Raf dead, too?"_ Hope was confused.

 _"No!"_ Lizzie tried to calm her down, _"I mean he was, but dad made a deal with him to free him and Alyssa."_

 _"What deal?"_ Hope was overwhelmed by everything she was just told. _"Forget it, you'll fill me in on the way, take me to Landon."_

 _"Hope, you should rest-"_ Alaric tried to convince the girl not to go through this yet.

_"No offense, dr. Saltzman, but I don't get why we are still here talking about it, when my boyfriend was staked with the only thing that could actually kill him."_

Alaric was about to argue, but knowing Hope, it was certain he wasn't going to win. He nodded and leaded the way having the tribrid following him out of the office.

* * *

Lizzie was laying on her bed, replaying the events of the day in her head, completely ignoring her sister's rambling. What had happened with Hope in her subconscious. Or what had almost happened. Twice. Did that really happen or was it her sick mind making shit up? No, that felt too real to be made up. _Who am I kidding? Hope is with Landon. She would never.. Well, she wasn't unwilling to go there. But now he is dead. Of course, Hope will save him. But where do we go from there? And why am I thinking so hard about this? Me and Hope? No! What? No!_ But then she remembered again the feeling of Hope's hand in her cheek, her lips so close to hers...

 _"So, what do you think?"_ asked Josie, pulling her out of a steamy daydream.

 _"What?"_ said Lizzie, clueless of the one-sided conversation she was having with her sister since they got back to their room.

 _"You haven't heard a word, have you?"_ Josie crossed her arms in disbelief.

The blonde gave her a guilty smile and raised her shoulders.

 _"What's going on with you?"_ Josie had noticed her twin's sudden change of behavior.

 _"What do you mean?"_ she responded like she didn't know what was that all about.

_"Since you returned, you've been... really quiet. Which is very unlike you."_

_"I'm just tired."_ claimed Lizzie as convincingly as she could.

 _"You sure everything is okay?"_ the brunette tried one last time.

_"Absolutely."_

_"Okay."_ said Josie and paused for a second, making Lizzie believe she was off the hook. _"I just noticed that Hope-"_

 _"You know what? I'm gonna go take a shower, if that's okay with you."_ Lizzie interrupted her sister, somewhat irritated by her persistence.

_"Oh, okay, sure."_

The blonde was out of the room before she could finish the sentence.

* * *

Lizzie threw her towel on the ground and jumped in one of the showers. Hot water was running against her skin, calming every nerve of her body. And that was just what she needed. She closed her eyes to enjoy the feeling, but in that darkness Hope's image popped up without a warning, making the siphon twitch. She opened her eyes again, only to see that her subconscious was playing dirty.

 _"For fuck's sake."_ she was done with her wild, cheeky mind.

 _"What's wrong?"_ Hope returned.

 _Oh, my God, Lizzie, now you're hearing her voice, that's not good, girl. You're going crazy._ Lizzie was panicking but then she realized where the voice was coming from.

 _"You okay in there?"_ asked again the tribrid from the next shower.

 _"Oh, it's you."_ spat out Lizzie.

 _"Oh, it's you."_ returned Hope in the same tone.

 _"May comes as a surprise to you, but I sometimes like to shower. Especially after a fight with a sea-monster in order to save you."_ Lizzie started picking on Hope, partly because she enjoyed annoying her and partly to make her forget, even for a moment, that Landon was dead.

 _"Yeah, in your dreams. Literally."_ Hope fought back.

_"More like in yours."_

Lizzie could hear Hope's half smile behind the wall, and that felt much more satisfying than every time she would make her angry with some narcissistic comment.

 _"So.. how are you doing?"_ asked Lizzie, serious this time.

Silence. She heard Hope sitting on the stool inside the shower, and she mimicked her, sitting down on hers.

 _"I don't know. I'm so scared that I won't be able do anything this time."_ Hope sounded wrecked.

 _"That's bullshit!"_ said Lizzie, making Hope look at the wall, in the spot where her face would be if there wasn't any.

 _"Landon will be fine. And if not, you will find a way to make him fine."_ she continued, the serenity in her voice caught Hope off guard. Somehow it made her feel safe.

 _"And how am I supposed to do that?"_ asked the shorter girl.

 _"Well, for starters, not alone."_ Lizzie stood up and extended her hand to Hope's side of the shower, above the end of the wall.

Hope stared at her friend's palm for a split second and smiled.

 _"Well, don't let me stand there."_ said the siphon playfully.

Before the sentence was finished, she felt Hope's hand tangled in hers, giving goosebumps to her entire body. They stood there for a minute, neither of them being willing to break the contact.

 _"Okay, that's just awkward now."_ said Lizzie finally detaching herself from Hope.

 _"Yep."_ Hope did the same.

 _"Alright, as fun as this.. shower meeting was, I have to get ba-"_ Lizzie stopped, realizing that she hadn't brought any clothes with her.

 _"Fuck me!"_ she yelled, annoyed by her own stupidity.

 _"Excuse me?"_ said Hope, a little scared but also intrigued, getting out of the shower and wrapping a towel around her body.

_"Earlier, I kinda barged out of my room, forgetting to take a change of clothes."_

_"Oh.."_ Hope gave it some thought. _"Okay, come to my room, I could borrow you some clothing and spare you the humiliation of passing through the dining room to get to your bedroom."_

 _"Pass."_ she said joining Hope out of the cubicle with her towel on.

 _"Suit yourself."_ Hope looked at her wrist, _"Oh, would you look at that, it's dinner time. I better hurry, it is going to be impossible to find a seat."_ she mocked her without a hint of shame and headed towards the exit.

 _"Okay fine!"_ Lizzie unhappily gave in.

 _"Alright."_ said Hope with a sneaky smile of win on her face, as she headed to her room, knowing the blonde witch was following. 


	3. I owe you

## Chapter 3 - I owe you

The halls of the Salvatore school were empty, as everyone was getting their dinner, at the time. That would give the chance to the girls to get to Hope's room without anybody seeing them. Or so they thought. The two friends were making their way to the tribrid's bedroom, walking next to each other and talking about what the shorter girl had missed during her long-term sleep. As they reached the corner of the hallway, Hope saw three students passing by, at the end of it, and pushed Lizzie to the wall, making sure they were both out of their sight. Only when she made sure they were clear, Hope noticed that her body was pressing Lizzie's against the wall and her hands were laying on the other girl's hips. 

_"Uh, sorry."_ she immediately removed them and took a step back.

_"S'alright."_ said Lizzie, fixing the towel around her.

They continued their way in awkward silence. When they were both inside the room, Hope closed the door and went to her drawer, in search of some clothes, leaving the siphon standing uncomfortable at the entrance.

_"So.. how did you find me?"_ Hope asked as she picked a T-shirt and some shorts.

_"What?"_ Lizzie returned uneasy.

_"In my subconscious."_ she explained as she placed the pile of clothes in the blonde's hands.

_"Oh.. well, I just saw a read door and went through it."_

_"Just a red door?" said Hope like she knew from personal experience it couldn't be that easy._

_"Yep."_ Lizzie shrugged and headed to the folding screen.

The tribrid, though not convinced, decided not to push. She put her pajamas on and waited for her friend to change as well. She stood next to her bed and looked over the siphon's way. She made a great effort to gulp. Lizzie's silhouette through the screen was making her feel something she hadn't experienced before. Lust. She wanted to get in there and take off that shirt Lizzie was about to put on. _Control yourself._ She turned around to face the wall with all her photos of her with her friends.. with Landon. _I'm awful. That's what I am. Landon's not waking up and I fucking fantasizing about naked Lizzie fucking Saltzman._ Hope hated herself for the fact that, even for a split second, she forgot about him.

_"We've talked about this, your troll will be safe."_ said Lizzie, seeing the shorter girl staring at a picture of them together.

_"Shut up, Lizzie."_ said Hope, annoyed with herself mostly.

_"Come on.. Landon, I mean Landon."_

_"Just go."_

_"Are you seriously mad about it?"_

_"What I'm mad about is that you won't mind your own damn business, just for once."_ Hope turned to face the witch.

Both girls gasped in the statement.

_"This is why you don't have any friends."_ Lizzie headed to the exit.

"Lizzie-" Hope tried to take it back but the siphon was out of the room, slamming the door behind her without actually touching it.

_"Fuck."_ yelled the tribrid and let her body fall into the bed, digging her face into the pillow.

_You shouldn't have talked to her like that. She didn't do anything wrong. You punished her for **your** sick mind. Just forget about it. Never gonna happen. Landon is still in danger. That's what matters._

And with that thought, Hope fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning found the tribrid covered in her sheets, unwilling to get out in the world, face the fact that Landon was dead. And then the memory of the fight she had with Lizzie the previous night came back, making her much more reluctant to leave her bed. That was Hope's thing. Pushing everyone away. The fear of losing them, made her determined not to get close to them in the first place. But it wasn't always easy. That's what happened with Landon. He made her let her walls down, fall in love with him. And then she started opening up to other people. First was Alaric, then Josie, Raf. Hell, even Lizzie. _Lizzie.._ But as always, Hope was right, _even immortal beings can find a way to die eventually._ But Landon wasn't going to be one of them. She wouldn't let him be. He was her first love. She loved him more than words could express. But she had to be honest with herself. She wasn't in love with him anymore. Hadn't been in a while. And that was the thing she was most feeling guilty about. It was never him. Whenever Hope had to choose between Landon and someone else, it was never him. But this time would be different. She would put Landon above her feelings, her desire for someone else. This time, she wouldn't stop until she made sure he was safe.

Hope finally jumped out of bed, put a red button V neck shirt and some jeans on and headed to the kitchen for some breakfast. When she got there, she detected the twins having some scrambled eggs with bacon and talking about their classes. Well, Josie was, Lizzie on the other hand was half-listening as she was twirling the fork on her untouched plate.

It was when Lizzie proceeded to take a sip of her coffee, their eyes met, making them both freeze in their position for a second. Lizzie shifted and looked at the food in front of her again. Only then Josie noticed the girl standing a few meters away from them and smiled to greet her. That made Hope wake up from her delirium and continue walking towards them. She reached the corner of the island opposite to Lizzie, her eyes were fixed on her own hands, playing nervously with the ring on her thumb.

_"Hey.. good morning."_ Hope's voice was full of remorse.

_"Not anymore."_ said Lizzie raising her eyebrows but refusing to make eye-contact. She grabbed her mug and looked at her sister. _"I'll continue my breakfast somewhere else."_ she stated and headed out.

_"But you didn't take your br-" Josie pointed at her twin's plate._

_"Yes, I did."_ yelled Lizzie from the hallway, raising her cup of coffee without looking back, until she was gone.

Both girls were staring at the blonde, but once she was out of sight, Hope approached the coffee machine. She loved its smell, it made her feel like home, like everything would be okay. She inhaled deeply, and sat next to Josie with her extra-large mug.

_"Something's up."_ Josie spat out after a few minutes of silence.

_"Huh?"_ Hope faced her friend taking another sip of her drink.

_"Lizzie. Something is off, don't you think?"_ she asked concerned.

_"I dunno."_

_"Yet something tells me it has to do with you."_

_"What? Why?"_ Hope was suddenly really uncomfortable.

_"Because the change started when she got out of your mind. I confronted her about it but she won't say anything. What happened in there?"_

_"She seems fine to me."_ Hope tried to avoid that conversation.

_"I'm her twin, okay? I can feel it. She's far from fine."_ Jo yelled but immediately regretted it. _"I'm sorry, it's not your fault. I'm just worried."_

_"It's okay. We all went through a lot recently."_

_"I never thanked you."_ Josie realized. _"You saved me.. and you saved my sister when I almost killed her."_

_"Don't worry about it."_ Hope smiled.

_"I do, because I should've done something when you were in danger."_ the brunette said full of guilt.

_"Well, you did, you got me out, we're even."_ the tribrid tried to comfort her.

_"No, I didn't, that was all Lizzie, I tried to keep her from going into your head. I gave up my magic for now, so I wouldn't be able to help her and I was so scared she would get stuck, too. I'm so sorry."_

_"Well, I'm here, so.. no worries."_

_"Yes, only because she reminded me of all the times you've helped us. And, honestly, she was determined to do it, with or without my help."_

_"She was?"_

_"Yeah.. you must be really mad at me, you have every right to be."_

_"Not quite."_ Hope said thinking about Lizzie defying everyone to save her. _"Well, I have to go, got a boyfriend to bring back to life. Don't worry, we're good."_ she patted her back and left the kitchen with the cup still in her hand.

_"But you didn't-"_ called out Josie.

_"Sure, did!"_ returned the tribrid.

_"Why does everyone refuse to have breakfast today?"_ the brunette yelled frustrated.

_"Well, I don't."_ said Jade, walking into the room like she owned it. _"If you don't mind the company."_ she continued resting her hands on the kitchen island, raising her eyebrow and giving Josie the most charming smile, making the siphon melt in her seat.

* * *

Hope had read every single book in the library, trying to find a loophole for what happened to Landon. She had asked MG's help for some vamp-reading, so it didn't take long to find absolutely nothing. There was no research on the golden arrow or how to bring a Phoenix back after he gets stabbed by it.

_"Throw him into the pit."_ suggested Lizzie disengaged, leaning on the door with crossed arms, catching them both off guards.

The two students turned around to face their friend, rather startled by her words.

_"Okay, I know I was a bitch to you yesterday, but the snarky comments aren't helping anyone right now."_ returned Hope a little annoyed.

_"You're right."_ Lizzie admitted walking down the stairs to meet her. _"You **were** a bitch to me."_

Hope rolled her eyes and put the book she was holding back to its place.

_"But I'm over it."_ Lizzie continued ignoring the tribrid, _"And I meant what I said about the pit."_

The two friends stared at her, this time mortified.

_"Lizzie, you do realize this is what malivore wanted all along."_ responded MG confused, making Hope a favor, whose mouth could wipe the floor right now.

_"Wrong. Malivore wants alive Landon, so he can take over his body, that's why he made him immortal, isn't that right?"_

_"Yes, but-"_ Hope had no idea where Lizzie was going with it.

_"If someone knows how to bring him back, it's him."_ Lizzie was so proud of herself.

_"Let's say we do that and it works, what's stopping him from body-snatching Landon right there and then?"_ Hope returned alarmed.

_"Well.. you."_ the siphon shrugged.

_"But Hope has been there before and he spat her out."_ MG stated bewildered.

_"But what if it wasn't Hope herself, what if it was just-"_

_"My blood."_ realized the tribrid in awe.

_"Finally, you're catching on."_ the witch nodded.

_"My blood is poison to him! Even if he does rescue him, he won't be able to hurt him if he has my blood in his system, he'll have to spit him out!"_ Hope rambled almost excited.

_"Okay, there, you don't have to say it like it was **your** plan." _

_"Lizzie, that's brilliant!"_

_"I do have my moments."_ she grinned.

_"But also, really, really dangerous, right guys?"_ MG ruined their utopia. _"What about the necromancer?"_

_"He's right."_ the tribrid's hopes went down a bit. _"Now that he possesses Josie's power, he must be unstoppable. And he definitely doesn't want Landon alive."_

_"Boo-hoo, Hope. This isn't the first time something goes to shit. A psycho necro-creature wants your boyfriend dead.. Wow, it must be Tuesday. Doesn't mean we give up."_

_"God, you're right."_ Hope came to her senses. _"MG, get Dr. Saltzman here for me, please?"_

_"Yeah, sure!"_ answered MG and vamped out.

_"Great, now **you** figure out a plan on how to get to the pit. It's really exhausting to be the beauty and the brains all the time." _Lizzie pretended to be tired and headed towards the exit, when Hope's hand reached her arm, pulling her back. 

They locked eyes and everything felt like they were back in her mind. Just the two of them. No worries, no distractions, just them.

_"I just wanted to say.. thank you."_

_"It's cool."_

_"No, I mean it. I owe you."_

_"No, you don't."_

_"I do."_

_"You don't!"_

_"What's your problem? I thought you loved having the upper hand."_

_"That I do. But I don't want.."_ Lizzie paused and examined every feature on Hope's beautiful face.

She placed her hand on the other girl's neck, down her left ear, resting her thumb on her cheek. Hope shivered in the unexpected, yet liberating touch.

_"I don't want you to do anything just because you think you owe me..."_

_"I.. I don't understand."_ Hope was feeling week in her knees, she barely managed to form the sentence.

Lizzie looked at those lips and wondered how could anyone ever resist them. But she couldn't. Not yet. Instead, she dragged her thump all the way to her lower lip and caressed it, making the tribrid gulp and close her eyes.

_"Oh, I think you do."_ she gave the shorter girl a crafty half smile.

When Lizzie gently removed her hand from the girl, Hope's first reaction was to move her face closer to it, trying to delay the inevitable, and only when the contact was broken, she opened her eyes again.

"Now, go save your bird-boy." Lizzie said softly, leaving the tribrid standing lost, at the school's library.

* * *

The siphon barged in her room, trying to find some peace after the day she had. Instead, she found her sister being ungentlemanly touched by a ginger vampire who's humanity was recently switched back on. But Josie didn't seem to mind it, just the opposite. She returned the fondling and seemed to really enjoy Jade's mouth on her neck. Hearing her twin's sex moan made Lizzie gag, interrupting the two horny girls.

_"That's inappropriate!"_ the blonde yelled as disgusted as it gets.

_"Oh my God, Lizzie."_ Josette jumped on her feet, utterly embarrassed that her sister had just witnessed her in this position.

_"My eyes are burning! Couldn't you take that somewhere else?"_ Lizzie said nauseated, making Josie hide behind Jade, who rolled her eyes in frustration for getting interrupted.

_"I'm sorry, I didn't think you would get back until eight. Didn't you have that class?"_

_"We are talking about you right now! What is it with me walking_ _in on people these days?"_ the blonde remembered her unfortunate encounter with Hope and Landon, getting even sicker.

_"We were not-"_ Jo tried to explain, _"Wait, who else did you-"_

_"No one. None."_ Lizzie claimed allegedly casual. _"I'm gonna go take that class now. This is where you've gotten me."_ Lizzie headed out, leaving the two girls staring at each other.

_"Don't even think about it. This is where I sleep."_ the blonde scared them one more time, before leaving for good.

"Is she gone?" Jade whispered.

"I think so." returned sheepish Josie. Lust was written all over their faces again.

"Good." the ginger smiled and vamped the girl onto the bed, climbing on top of her.

* * *

Alaric's jaw dropped, as he listened to Hope explaining the plan to save Landon. 

_"That's your plan?"_ said the headmaster, not sure whether she was serious about this or not.

_"Actually, it's Lizzie's."_ Hope claimed, folding her arms.

_"I should've guessed."_ Alaric let out a breath he was holding inside for a while.

_"Come on, Dr. Saltzman, you know it's the best we've got. The only."_

Ric took a second to process everything he was just told.

_"I don't know, Hope, it's a longshot. And extremely dangerous."_ he finally spoke, voice full of concern.

_"It's Landon we're talking about. Please, just trust me on this one."_ Hope begged humble, yet confident for a good outcome.

_"How are you planning on getting to that pit?"_ asked Alaric, unable to miss the chance of getting his student back. 

_"Chad."_ spat out Hope foxy.

_"The necromancer's right puppet hand, Chad?"_ asked Lizzie from across the room, driving all eyes on her. She walked in, enjoying the attention. _"I told you to find a plan to save him, not get you both killed."_

_"And that's what I'm doing."_ Hope said feisty and returned to Alaric. _"Just hear me out. Chad is not a monster, I've seen him, he doesn't wanna hurt people."_

_"You do know he tried to kill Landon and actually killed Rafael, right?"_ Lizzie raised her eyebrow.

_"The necromancer was manipulating him."_ the tribrid explained. _"But he set him free with the others, right? All we need to do is find Chad and convince him to distract him, while we toss Landon into the pit."_ everyone in the room, including Hope, was slightly alarmed by her wording.

_"Okay, fine. Let's say he accepts to do that and he does lure him out of the tomb. How do we know he is even alone, or the portal still exists?"_ Alaric tried to be the voice of reason.

_"We can fight whatever might be in that tomb, Dr. Saltzman."_ Hope said confident.

_"We?"_ Ric asked for further explanation.

_"Us two, I don't wanna drag anyone else into this."_ returned the girl.

_"Uh, you mean us three."_ Lizzie coughed.

_"Absolutely not."_ Hope and Alaric said at once.

_"Come on, I'm so traumatized right now, I almost wish to get tossed, too."_ Lizzie retaliated.

_"Traumatized by what?"_ her father asked concerned.

_"Uh.. not important."_ Lizzie tried to fix her own mess. _"But can we bring Jade, too?"_ the blonde asked casually, not being able to contain herself.

_"Why?"_ Hope couldn't find a point to it.

_"No reason!"_ Lizzie said, putting her most spiteful smile.

_"Actually, that might be good for her, make her feel part of the team, that she belongs here."_ Alaric thought.

_"Oh, trust me, she is feeling very welcomed."_ Lizzie said inside her teeth.

_"What?"_

_"Nothing, daddy. I couldn't agree more."_

_"Good idea, Lizzie."_ admitted Ric.

_"Does this mean I can come, too?"_ Lizzie sounded hopeful.

_"No."_ Hope insisted.

_"I didn't ask for your opinion."_ Lizzie fought back.

_"I'm afraid Hope's right, sweetheart. It's too dangerous."_

_"Ugh. You're both so... ugh!"_ the siphon screamed and marched off.

_"So, the only thing left to do is find Chad."_ Alaric stated.

_"I guess so."_


	4. Let's get down to business

## Chapter 4 - Let's get down to business

Chad woke up in a wolf transition cell, his body was sour but not hurt. Three days had passed by, but they managed to find him. He grabbed his forehead and tried to recall how he got there, when a female voice scattered his thoughts.

_"Rise and shine."_

He got up and realized that Hope and Alaric were standing outside the dungeon this entire time, waiting for him to wake up. He panicked.

 _"What am I-"_ he tried to speak. _"How did I-"_ he was so scared, no words could be properly formed in a full sentence.

 _"Slow down."_ said Alaric in a calm voice.

 _"I'm so sorry about what I did, I didn't have free will, I swear, I never meant to do any of this, please, don't hurt me!"_ Chad freaked out.

 _"Calm down, we are not gonna hurt you."_ confirmed Hope.

 _"You are not?"_ he said confused. _"Then why am I here? Wait, how did you find me?"_

 _"Just a locator sp-"_ Hope got interrupted by Alaric's cough, as a sign to shut up. _"Not important."_

 _"So, why am I here?"_ Chad got closer, a little less petrified this time.

Hope changed a look with her headmaster before she proceeded to explain. When she was done talking, the Necromancer's former subcommittee was even more terrified than before, when he thought he was about to get murdered.

_"There's no way I'm going back there. Tedd- I mean the Necromancer, would kill me on the spot."_

_"He won't, we'll protect you."_ claimed Hope.

 _"No offense, but you haven't seen him since he possessed your friend's dark magic. He is ruthless. And unstoppable. Even for you."_ Chad explained, in an effort to change the girl's mind.

 _"What if we duplicate you and send the fake one? You'll be totally safe."_ she suggested.

_"How is that even possible?"_

_"Leave the magic to me."_

_"No. When he figures out I helped you he's gonna come after me."_

_"Dr. Saltzman, could you give us a moment?"_ Hope turned to her headmaster.

_"Hope-"_

_"Please."_ she said serious, with the kind of look you can't say no to.

Alaric finally decided to grant her request and leave them alone.

 _"Okay, look, you're going to do it, even if I need to have you compelled."_ Hope was done asking.

_"Actually, I don't think this trick will work on me, you see technically, I'm dead."_

_"God, what do you want to do it?"_ Hope was losing her patience.

Chad gave some thought to it. After a minute or two, he finally spoke.

_"A date."_

_"A what?"_ that was the last thing Hope was expecting to hear.

 _"You heard me."_ he shrugged.

 _"You do realize I'm trying to save my boyfriend, right?"_ Hope returned baffled.

 _"You're cute, Hope. But I wasn't talking about you. It's Lizzie I want to date."_ Chad smirked.

Hope's body tensed in the sound of her name. _There's no way._

 _"Forget it. Not happening."_ Hope said filled with rage.

_"Why is that?"_

_"Are you seriously asking? I won't be a pimp to my friend."_

_"That's odd."_ his blaze expression was driving the girl crazy.

_"What is?"_

_"You are offering me literally anything to save your boyfriend, yet when I ask something such simple as a date with this girl, you won't even consider asking her what she thinks. I wonder why is that.."_

_"We are done discussing this."_ Hope's eyes turned yellow from the rage.

_"Ouch. Looks like I hit a nerve."_

_"You have until tomorrow to comply._ _There's always the ugly way."_ Hopegrowled and stormed off.

* * *

 _"Can you let it go already? It's been three days."_ Josie begged her sister.

 _"Uh, let me think, can I let go of the fact that my twin was having sex in our room with a girl who almost killed her and our dad, not two months ago?"_ Lizzie responded, sarcastic as always.

_"That's not fair, her humanity was off, and she spent ten years in a prison world for a mistake any of us could have done. In fact, I did. I killed Alyssa. The fact that she's alive doesn't make it less horrible that what she did. Everyone deserves a second chance."_

_"Fine, if you're gonna put it like that."_ Lizzie rolled her eyes. _"Since when do you fancy Jade anyway?"_

_"Pretty much since I laid my eyes on her. But especially when I heard her talking to Wendy about me. You know, when you hear someone you like admit they have feelings for you. It's just the best feeling in the world."_

Lizzie couldn't help but think about what she had seen in Hope's mind. Finding out how the tribrid felt about her was.. groundbreaking.

 _"And when she's so strong and fearless to anyone else.. but then so soft and caring to you.."_ Jo continued, reminding her sister of Hope, once again. 

_"Okay, I don't need to hear about it."_ Lizzie remembered that Jo was referring to Jade. _"So, why didn't you tell me?"_

 _"Are you serious? I'm trying to tell you for days now, maybe if you had listened to me for a change, we would have avoided some awkward situations."_ Josie exploded.

Lizzie remembered the night she returned from her friend's subconscious, Josie was talking about something, but she was too absorbed in her own issues, that she completely ignored her. _Was she talking about Jade?_

_"Oh.. I didn't-"_

_"Didn't hear? Yeah, I noticed. You don't listen to anything these days."_

_"Please, don't start."_ Lizzie rolled her eyes.

 _"Lizzie, something happened. Just tell me what it is."_ Josette demanded.

 _"Nothing, I'm just.. I'm pissed dad won't let me help with Landon."_ the blonde returned.

_"Why? You don't even like him."_

_"It's not about him."_ Lizzie explained. _"I just want to be included."_ she spoke low.

Josie examined her sister's features. She was vulnerable. She genuinely just wanted to help.

 _"Okay, let's go."_ Jo ordered, getting up from her sister's bed.

 _"Go where?"_ she spat out confused.

_"Find Chad."_

_"The psycho's lapdog is here?"_

_"Yes, I overheard dad talking about it with MG."_

_"Milton Greasley is in on it and I'm not?"_ Lizzie said furious and stormed off along with her twin, heading to the cells.

* * *

When they arrived at the wolf transition space, they saw Chad sitting on the floor, staring at the ceiling. Lizzie entered first, getting his undivided attention.

 _"So, what's the plan?"_ the blonde spat out.

 _"Hello to you, too, beautiful!"_ the boy stood up and clapped his hands, to clean off the dust they had wiped from the ground. _"What do you know, she did talk to you."_ he continued surprised.

 _"Excuse me?"_ she returned.

_"Hope. What, are you not here for our date?"_

_"Your what now?"_ said Josie, as shocked as her sister was from the disclosure.

_"Our d-" he stopped. "She didn't tell you, did she?"_

_"If you don't want me to break every bone in your body with a single snap of my fingers, you better start talking."_ Lizzie threatened.

 _"Bossy. I knew there was something about you."_ he said foxy but when Lizzie raised her hand, he nearly wet his pants. _"Okay, okay. I told your friend that I would help her with the Necromancer, if you were willing to go on a date with me."_ he explained.

 _"What a gentleman."_ Josie said sarcastically.

 _"She didn't say anything."_ Lizzie was still in shock.

 _"Well, clearly."_ he shrugged.

_"No, you don't get it, she did it again, she left me out of the plan. Even when I am very much needed, she just doesn't want me to be part of it." Lizzie was frustrated._

_"Wow, looks like you two have a lot to discuss."_ Chad remarked.

_"You don't know the half of it."_

_"Time's up, Chad, for your sake, I hope you made the smart cho-"_ Hope proceeded to threaten, crossing the room's entrance but cut it short when she beheld the blonde siphon. 

_"Just on time."_ Chad smirked.

 _"What the hell are you doing here?"_ the tribrid asked the blonde, quite disturbed.

 _"Better question, why am I the last person to find out about this?"_ Lizzie was remaining sarcastic, despite her anger.

 _"We are not doing this here."_ stated Hope and grabbed Lizzie's hand, leading her outside.

Once they were both in a safe distance, Lizzie pulled her hand back, to unleash it from Hope's palm and halted.

 _"What do you think you're doing?"_ the taller girl said folding her arms.

 _"Me? What about you? I was handling it just fine before you decided to take the matter into your own hands."_ Hope scratched her head in confusion.

_"Oh, really? Because from what I've gathered, only a date with **me** will convince the one hobbit to help save the other."_

_"It's not up for discussion, Lizzie."_

_"You're not my dad, Hope. You can't make the decisions for me."_

_"Speaking of your father, I'm sure he would agree with me, that you can't go on a date with someone you don't even know-"_

_"What's wrong with you? I thought you would do anything to bring your boyfriend back."_ Lizzie spoke intense.

 _"Not this."_ the tribrid yelled, but the look on her friend's face made her regret it. _"I'll find another way."_ she said calmer.

_"Why? It's just a stupid date." Lizzie was confused._

_"Because I-"_ she paused for a second. _"Because you shouldn't do this for me."_

 _"Not everything is about you, Hope."_ Lizzie said. _"What if I want to date the pup- Chad? Chad seems.. nice."_ it took everything in her powers for that sentence to come out of her mouth.

 _"So, you actually wanna go on that date."_ Hope crossed her arms dismayed.

 _"Sure."_ spat out the blonde. A few seconds passed by in absolute silence.

 _"Be my guest."_ said the tribrid almost spiteful, walking back to the cell.

Lizzie's eyes rolled as she took a deep breath, in an attempt to collect her thoughts and followed the shorter girl.

 _"Alright, Chad,"_ Hope pronounced his name like it was the dirtiest word, _"Your wish has been granted, now to the actual plan."_

 _"I knew you'd give in."_ said Chad winking at Lizzie.

The three girls looked at him with undenied repulse. Lizzie wished she could have taken it all back but the damage had already been done, there was no way she'd backed down after all the breeze with Hope.

 _"Cannot wait."_ Lizzie said with the world's most fake smile.

 _"Peachy."_ Hope spat out. The two girls exchanged a hostile look but she carried on. _"Now, let's get down to business."_

* * *

Lizzie hopped in the shower, thinking about the next day. The day they -if everything goes according to plan- bring Landon back. Jobs had been given. Hers and Josie's was to stay in the school, taking care of Chad's projection spell. Hope, with the help of Jade, would take Landon to the pit, once the coast was clear. Alaric would be with them, carrying a crossbow as usual. Pretty easy, right? Yet, Lizzie couldn't shake that feeling, that something bad was bound to happen. She got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body. When she got dressed and headed back to her room, she found Hope sitting on the other girl's bed, waiting for her. The tribrid stood up when their eyes met.

 _"Uh, where's Josie?"_ the siphon asked, as she released her wet hair from the towel and wiped them for a second. 

_"With Jade, I guess. She was in a hurry."_ Hope shrugged uncomfortable.

 _"Right."_ she returned, still not having fully accepted her sister's new.. thing. _"So, what are you doing here?"_

 _"Um.. I just wanted to make sure everyone is ready for tomorrow."_ she said scratching her elbow.

 _"Sure"_ the blonde responded, throwing her towel into the laundry basket. _"Is that all?"_

_"Yeah.. No. I also wanted to say thank you for doing that. I know Landon is not your favorite person."_

_"Will you, people, stop saying that? It's not like I hate him. I just hated certain situations."_

_"Anyhow. Thanks."_ Hope pressed her lips against each other, forming a shy smile.

_"Yeah, it would have been much easier if you hadn't sabotaged all my attempts to help."_

_"I wasn't-"_ Hope protested. _"Okay, maybe I was but I did it to protect you."_ she admitted.

_"From what? Chad? Please. I'm not the one needing protecting."_

_"You know, you really don't have to do this. I mean, it's not like he can do anything about it, if you don't go on that date."_ she said sheepish.

 _"A promise is a promise, Hope."_ Lizzie returned. _"Why are you so worked up about this, it's the least important thing from what's going to happen in the next days."_

_"I know, I just feel guilty you have to do this."_

_"It's not like I'm being hunted down and stoned to death. It's just a date. Who knows, maybe it will turn out to be a good thing."_ Lizzie shrugged, to ease Hope's guilt.

 _"Oh. Okay, I guess we are good, then."_ murmured Hope, rather disappointed from her friend's respond.

_"Sure, if you stop excluding me from things like that in the future."_

_"Alright. It's not my place anyway."_ Hope sighed.

 _"Took you long enough."_ Lizzie remarked but decided she wasn't up for another argument. _"But it's nice to know I'm being looked after."_ she smirked, bringing a faint blush to the tribrid's cheeks.

 _"Of course."_ she returned a shy smile. They locked eyes for what seemed like forever. _"Anyway, I should probably go to sleep, tomorrow is a big day."_ Hope coughed, breaking the contact first.

 _"You should."_ the witch nodded scratching her neck.

 _"Okay."_ she headed for the door when Lizzie's voice stopped her.

_"Hope?"_

_"Yeah?"_ the tribrid returned to face her a bit too fast.

_"Goodnight."_

_"Goodnight, Lizzie."_ she smiled and left the room.

* * *

 _"Are you sure you remember everything?"_ Lizzie asked Chad, trying to make sure he wouldn't screw this all up.

_"I told you, beautiful, I'm ready for this. Now, how do you feel about Thai?"_

_"Focus, Chad."_ Lizzie rolled her eyes. 

_"You will be able to see him as if you were there."_ explained Josie, who was sitting right beside her sister.

 _"But remember. He can't touch you. If he tries to touch you, he will realize you're not real and everything will go to shit."_ Lizzie pointed out.

 _"Okay."_ said Chad, a little less relaxed this time.

 _"That's not very reassuring, try again."_ Lizzie insisted.

 _"I got this."_ he continued, making the blonde sigh.

"Are the others there yet?" she returned to her sister this time.

 _"They're close. Hope said she'll notify us when it's time."_ Josie answered.

"I should be there." Lizzie shook her head concerned.

"If you were there, who was going to do the spell?"

_"Okay, I know you went through hell and you can't trust yourself, but don't you think it's time to regain your powers? I mean, come on, Dark you is gone."_

Josie looked at her sister, feeling guilty she won't be able to help, but still too terrified of herself to do something about it. _Fuck, I shouldn't have said that._

 _"It's okay if you're not ready. Don't worry, I can do this by myself. I promise."_ Lizzie comforted her.

"You're gonna have to make good on that promise." emphasized Josie, showing her phone and Hope's message, confirming that it was time to begin.

* * *

Hope and Jade were hidden behind a grave in a close distance of the tomb. Alaric with MG weren't too far either. Suddenly, they saw Chad walking uncertainly right into it. _Good job, Lizzie._

 _"What is happening?"_ Hope asked Jade, who had the ability to hear every single word of the conversation.

Jade fixed her hair behind her ear and listened.

 _"Hey, Tedd, wassup?"_ said Chad allegedly calm.

Jade and Mg along with the twins back at the school, they all slapped their foreheads simultaneously.

The Necromancer had his hands rested behind his back, looking into the pit. Chad's words made him turn one hundred and eighty degrees, facing whoever dared to call him anything but 'the Necromancer'. His look was so deadly, it made the young man regret every decision he had made the past twenty-four hours.

"I mean, **the** Necromancer." he corrected himself, trying to avoid his rage.

 _"What is it that you're looking for, Chad?"_ asked the all-powerful being. _"I thought I released you."_

 _"You- you did, it's just.. I know something that you may wanna hear."_ his former minion stuttered.

 _"What are you waiting for, then?"_ he replied.

 _"Not here."_ Chad suggested.

With one move, the Necromancer made the table fly across the room. In everybody's favor, Chad deflected it without touching it and blowing their cover.

"Hope. It's about Hope Mikaelson." he said nearly pissing his pants.

The familiar sound of the Necromancer's laughter filled the room.

 _"Do you think a little girl is capable of scaring me, the most powerful creature to ever exist?"_ he said still laughing.

 _"What is he saying?"_ Hope asked the vampire, remaining in a safe distance from them.

 _"He is.. power-shaming you."_ Jade returned and continued listening to their conversation.

 _"Well, there was this time-"_ Chad was referring to Dark Josie and how she used to be the boss.

 _"Silence!"_ the older man roared.

 _"Apologies, master, I didn't mean to upset you."_ Chad bowed, to avert the hurricane from erupting.

 _"What is it about the tribrid that's so important?"_ the Necromancer asked.

_"She wants to bring Landon back to life, sire."_

_"I made sure this won't ever happen."_

_"I'm aware, master, but she found a way to do it, through magic. She is raising him from the dead as we speak."_ Chad reassured him.

 _"And how did you find out about this?"_ he moved sinisterly closer to the younger man. _"And if it's true, why are you here, informing me, instead of running for your pathetic life?"_

_"I- I saw Hope dragging Landon's body in the woods and I overheard her talking to one of the witches about it. The one that transported the dark magic into you."_

_"Blondie."_ The necromancer's smirk faded, as he listened to his previous puppet's explanation.

 _"I wanted to leave, but a voice inside my head urged me to come and find you."_ Chad lied as convincingly as he could, hopping that the Necromancer's ego would work to his advantage for this once.

 _"Seems like my power is so massively monumental, that even after your release, you're still my follower."_ he wore a gloating smile as he moved really close to Chad. _"If you're lying-"_

 _"I can prove it!"_ Chad rushed to say, stopping the Necromancer's hand, that almost touched his neck threateningly. _"Come with me."_

The two men walked out of the tomb and disappeared into the woods.

"Wow. Didn't expect for this to actually work!" Jade remarked genuinely surprised.

"Shh.." Hope hushed the ginger vampire. "Let's go."


	5. Saving Hope

## Chapter 5 - Saving Hope

Hope made her way into the tomb, examining every single inch of it. Close behind her were Jade and Mg, carrying Landon's body. They gently let it touch the ground next to the pit, and left the room to secure the perimeter. The tribrid made sure there was no danger before she sat on the step, next to her boyfriend.

 _"I know you can't hear me, but I need you to do something for me, okay? I need you to come back to me."_ she whispered in Landon's ear and placed a small kiss on his forehead.

She took out a needle, draw some blood from her vein and injected it to his neck, carefully. Her eyes were blurry from the tears, but she could hear something bubbling in the pit. She stood up immediately to take a look. As she was observing the black goo of darkness, a wooden stake flew across the room, penetrating her shoulder. Hope kneeled from the pain but she bit the bullet and took out the stake from the other side. She stood on her feet and turned around to see a zombie with no good intentions, moving towards her. 

_"Of course it's a freaking zombie."_ Hope rolled her eyes.

Hope grabbed an axe she had noticed laying behind a coffin, when she'd walked in, and ran to the zombie. Her weapon touched the floor a few seconds after his head did. She hurried back to Landon, not realizing that two more were right behind her. They tried to contain her, when both their heads were brutally chopped of. Jade had her hands raised, holding one on each, grabbing them from the hair. She dropped them like a microphone and smiled at the tribrid.

_"Well, this was fun."_

_"Thanks."_ said Hope out of breath.

* * *

 _"Where are they then, we are walking in bloody circles"_ roared the Necromancer.

 _"No, they're here. We are close."_ Chad stuttered stressful.

 _"Careful now, Chad, if this is some sort of game, you know you are bound to lose."_ he smirked.

 _"I saw them somewhere near."_ the young man reassured him.

_"Lead the way."_

Chad proceeded to do exactly that, when the Necromancer's hand passed through the boy's heart, or where his heart would be, if he wasn't made out of thin air. He turned terrified to face his master, whose veins were popping black, just like Josie's once had been.

_"You, foolish boy, this is going to be the end of you, I will hunt you down like an animal and I-"_

_"No!"_ Chad was back at his cell, screaming and sweating in fear, _"This can't be happening."_

 _"Fuck. He knows."_ said Lizzie horrified. _"I have to warn them."_

 _"Wait. You can't-"_ Jo tried to stop her, blocking the entrance with her body. "We can text them."

_"Jo get out of my way or, I swear to God, I'm gonna make you."_

* * *

The tomb was filled with brain-eaters that Hope and Jade would take care of, as Alaric and MG were fighting the ones outside. Suddenly the all dropped dead. The two girls came out to meet their headmaster.

 _"What happened?"_ Hope asked.

 _"Whatever it is, it can't be good. We better hurry."_ Alaric ordered.

 _"I'm right behind you."_ said Hope and got back in the tomb.

She grabbed Landon and began to move him into the pit when she heard heavy steps entering the door behind her. She turned around to face a furious Necromancer. Before she could react in any way, she saw Lizzie tiptoeing right next to him, raising her forefinger in front of her lips. Hope was confused but she obeyed. The siphon walked her way next to Hope,when the second realized Lizzie had done a protection spell on them, making them invisible to the Necromancer. The blonde pointed at Landon, as a sign they needed to quietly toss him into the pit. The two girls grasped the Phoenix and held him above the black liquid, when a knife scratched Lizzie's hand, a little too deep.

 _"Oooow."_ Lizzie screamed and let Landon's body fall into oblivion.

Hope cradled her, to keep her from falling, too, and blocked with her hand the other girl's mouth.

 _"Show yourself!"_ the Necromancer growled, throwing more knives their way, that Hope would deflect, without ever letting wounded Lizzie out of her arms.

The siphon's nose was flooding with blood, until she was too weak to hold the spell. They both became visible again, making the man's work much easier.

_"You, dearest, somehow always have the idea you can outsmart me, yet I seem to win every single time."_

_"She's hurt."_ Hope growled.

 _"That's the bloody point."_ he returned, forming a deadly ball of lightning in his hands.

Hope extended her arm, building a shield big enough to keep them both safe when his rage hit, but the power completely destroyed it.

 _"You have no idea what you have gotten yourself into."_ He raised his hand, holding an enormous amount of dark magic at the tip of his fingers.

 _"Any last words?"_ he smirked and Hope tightened around Lizzie, who had almost passed out.

His head fell onto the ground and his body soon followed.

 _"Funny you should mention that."_ returned Jade, dropping the axe on the floor, next to his detached parts. 

_"Jade!"_ Hope sighed relieved.

_"You guys okay?"_

_"We'll be fine. Let's go, that's not going to keep him down for long."_

The tribrid lifted the unconscious girl and bridal-carried her out of the tomb.

* * *

When the three girls arrived back at the school, they found Alaric and Josie waiting for them.

 _"What happened to 'I'm right behind you'?"_ Alaric yelled at his student.

 _"I got a little distracted by an immortal being filled with dark magic."_ Hope returned, placing Lizzie gently on the couch.

 _"What happened?"_ he asked concerned.

 _"She will be okay."_ she said soft, looking at the blonde.

 _"I can patch up her wound."_ Jade offered.

 _"No medical student whose only training experience is consisting of ten years of healing people who can already be healed regardless, touches my wound."_ said Lizzie, who was slowly regaining her senses.

 _"Rude."_ spat out Jade.

 _"See? I told you she'd be fine."_ Hope smiled at the laying girl.

* * *

Josie made sure her sister was safely in her bed, getting some rest after the day they had. She waited until Lizzie was asleep and left the room, needing to make sure someone else was fine, too. She knocked twice, noticing her palms were sweating. When the door opened, Jade's warm smile filled the room and Josie could feel her heart pounding inside her chest.

 _"Hey."_ said the vampire, not expecting any visitors but totally appreciating having one.

 _"Hi."_ the siphon replied as Jade moved aside to let the girl come in.

When she closed the door and turned around, Josie surprised her with a kiss so passionate, that the girl found herself pushed against the gate. It didn't take long for her to realize what was going on and return the kiss with the same desire, if not more. When they parted, Jade looked into the other girl's eyes, trying to figure out what she was thinking. Unfortunately, she couldn't read her and decided to just ask instead.

 _"Do not get me wrong, I really enjoy doing that but.. I thought we were going to be 'discreet' from now on?"_ she quoted what Josie herself had suggested not a day ago.

 _"I know, I said that."_ Josie sighed disappointed at herself for not following through, while walking away from the vampire. _"I came to check in on you, after today's events."_ she explained and, in a small hop, sat on Jade's desk.

 _"Well, as you can see, I'm perfectly fine, which is more than I can say for the other guy."_ Jade jested, letting the door behind her support her body.

 _"Don't joke about this, Jade, it's serious. If the Necromancer was pain in the ass before, he can easily become our worst nightmare now, possessing the dark magic."_ Josie admonished the girl.

 _"I survived ten years with Kai Parker, I think I can handle a little magic."_ smirked the ginger.

 _"It's not just 'a little magic'."_ Josie argued. _"Do you forget how dangerous I was when I had all this magic inside of me?"_

 _"I don't know, Jose, I thought you looked pretty hot."_ Jade returned flirty.

 _"Jade."_ the siphon was irritated by how lightly her lover was taking this threat.

 _"Okay, fine, I'm taking it seriously."_ Jade complied. _"So.."_

The vampire was suddenly right in front of the brunette, whose legs where now parted, laying on the right and left side of Jade's waist.

 _"Does that mean that you.. I don't know.. care?"_ she asked all-innocent, resting her palms on Josie's thighs.

The siphon wasn't expecting this question and that was shown all over her face. Her expression softened after the initial surprise, as she took a moment to look into the other girl's eyes. She smiled foxy and pulled Jade closer, tangling her legs around her hips. She leaned for a soft kiss that the vampire welcomed warmly.

 _"What do you think?"_ said Josie once she pulled away.

 _"Uh, I'm not sure, maybe you should tell me one more time."_ Jade gave her a silly little grin and pulled her into another kiss. 

Without taking their lips away from one another, the ginger lifted Josie from the desk and in return, the witch tightened her legs around Jade. Their smiles and laughs, as she was carrying her to the bed, could brighten the whole room up.

When their kiss got deeper, much to Jade's dismay, Josie stopped.

 _"We shouldn't."_ said the siphon trying to control her own impulse.

 _"Why not?"_ whispered the vampire to her ear and played with it, making the brunette forgetting the reason they shouldn't.

_"Because the last time we got caught by my sister, which I'm still being reminded of, to this day."_

_"But we are in my room right now, baby. We both know she would never."_ Jade said playful.

 _"You know I really want this, but I think we shouldn't inside the school."_ Josie returned as bummed as the girl next to her was.

"Fine. No sex at school." unhappily agreed Jade, raising her hands as an indication of her quitting.

Josie grinned and pecked her on the left cheek, making the girl smile again.

"I bet your sister does not follow the same rule with her girlfriend." spat out Jade in a last wave of complaint.

"Her what?" Josie's eyes popped in the sound of the words 'sister' and 'girlfriend' placed in the same sentence.

 _"Her girlf-"_ Jade paused. _"Hope."_ she explained, but Josie's expression hadn't changed a bit. _"What, are they not together?"_ she asked confused.

All the brunette could do at that moment was shake her head, denying it.

 _"Huh. I could have sworn they are girlfriends."_ Jade scratched her head. _"Maybe I misread that."_ she shrugged.

_"Or maybe you didn't."_

* * *

Lizzie was awake for a while now, but she wasn't ready for dad lectures or sister interrogations or anything, really. She took advantage of the fact that Josie wasn't there and decided to stay in bed, covered in her freshly washed sheets until the next morning. Her empty stomach protested but she chose to ignore it _._ Suddenly, she heard someone knocking on her door and cursed, because her expectations for tonight had just been crashed.She raised herself to sit on the bed properly and answered. The door opened and Hope came in, along with a tray full of goods. Lizzie didn't know if she was happier to see Hope or the food. _Definitely the food._

 _"Hey."_ Hope greeted softly, placing the tray on the nightstand.

 _"Hey. What's all this?"_ Lizzie asked trying to hide how grateful she was for these donuts in the corner.

 _"I noticed you skipped launch.. and dinner. I figured you might be hungry. And I was going to check in on you anyway, so.."_ Hope returned casual.

 _"Oh. That's.. Thanks."_ said Lizzie suspicious of her friend's behavior.

 _"Yeah, I would be dead if it weren't for your invisibility spell, so.. it's the least I could do."_ shrugged the tribrid.

She made a gesture that suggested Lizzie should move to the right side, and sat legs-crossed on the bed, next to her.

 _"Um, more like we would both be dead because I couldn't hold it long enough, but I like the way you think."_ she said perkily and took a bite.

 _"No, seriously, thanks for today. You had my back."_ Hope looked at the blonde.

 _"Don't get used to it. Having your back hurts."_ Lizzie complained, but her mouth was full of that donut and Hope couldn't hold her laugh. The blonde frowned and continued chewing.

 _"I was so scared that something would happen to you. To everyone."_ Hope admitted.

 _"But it didn't. So, don't stress it with all the what ifs."_ Lizzie tried to comfort her.

_"We are not out of the woods yet. He saw us. He **will** eventually come for us." _

Lizzie looked directly into the tribrid's eyes. She was terrified. The blonde rested her head on the other girl's shoulder.

_"Can we worry about it tomorrow?"_

Hope nodded and leaned on her friend's head. She inhaled, taking in as much of Lizzie's intoxicating scent as it was physically possible.

After a long moment of silence, Lizzie extended her wounded arm to reach the tray next to Hope, but all she managed to do is come face to face with the tribrid, so close, their noses were almost touching. They both stood still for a moment, eyeing one another.

 _"Uh, could you pass me that donut?"_ Lizzie broke the silence, dragging her look from the shorter girl's lips, straight into her eyes.

 _"Sure."_ replied Hope, still not moving.

 _"Will you?"_ said the blonde, bringing the tribrid back to reality.

 _"Yes!"_ Hope practically jumped to catch the plate but as she hurried back to Lizzie, she accidentally hit the siphon's wound with her elbow.

_"Ouch!"_

_"Lizzie, oh my God, I'm so sorry."_ Hope blocked her mouth with her palm from the terror.

 _"It's fine."_ spat out Lizzie, holding her hand on the height of her stitches.

 _"No, it's not. Let me see."_ the tribrid spoke a little calmer now and touched the girl's arm. _"It started bleeding again, I need to change your bandage"_ she hopped out of the bed and ran to the drawer, to grab the medical supplies. Next to them, Hope's eye caught something else laying around. _That's weird._ Hope closed the drawer and got back to her friend. 

_"Is that too tight?"_ she asked wrapping the blonde's arm with the bandage.

 _"No, it's fine. Can you grab me the painkillers?"_ from Hope's look Lizzie felt obligated to say _"They are prescripted."_

 _"Sure."_ she returned and gave her the pill bottle along with some water.

When she was done taking care of the wound, Hope threw the old bandage in the trash can, and returned to the bed. There was a moment of silence.

 _"So.."_ Hope decided to address it. _"I was looking for the prism the other day."_ she paused for a bit _"but turns out, it was in your drawer the whole time."_ she continued and looked at Lizzie.

Lizzie turned to meet her friend's eyes. Then continued looking forward. _"Found it in your room while I was changing. Didn't think I should ask, considering it's mine."_

 _"Sure, I was just looking for it."_ Hope shrugged.

 _"Why?"_ Lizzie faced her again.

 _"No reason. I just didn't know where it was."_ she continued uneasy.

_"Is that so? Or did you need it for something?"_

_"Like what?"_

_"You tell me."_

_"Tell you what?"_

_"Did it go away? The feeling."_ asked Lizzie, whose painkillers had started to kick in.

Hope hesitated for a second. _"What did you see?"_ she said startled, realizing what is going on.

Lizzie didn't need to answer, her look said it all.

 _"Lizzie, that was private!"_ Hope protested jumping to her feet.

 _"How was I supposed to know? I just opened a random door in order to find you."_ Lizzie joined the shorter girl out of the bed.

_"Just forget it." Hope spat out._

_"Do you think I haven't tried?"_ Lizzie exploded. _"But for some annoyingly stupid reason you seem to keep popping up into my head."_

_"Lizzie-"_

_"Let's not make this a big deal, okay?"_ suggested the siphon. _"Just tell me what you're thinking."_

_"I'm thinking the painkillers got the best of you."_

_"Is it really that hard to admit that you like me?"_

_"Oh, I don't know, **you** witnessed the entire conversation in HD, **you** tell me." _Hope returned crossing her arms.

 _"See, I'm getting a vibe that you do like me."_ said Lizzie unashamed and got closer to the tribrid _"And what I'm saying is that I maybe, possibly, like you back."_ she confessed, making Hope weak in her knees.

Lizzie held the other girl's face in her hands like it was made of glass and gave her the most attractive smile. 

_"So, why are we arguing about this?"_ she continued soft, looking into her eyes.

 _"Because you're right, okay? I'm drawn to you. I didn't want to be, because you're.. you know.. you."_ Hope admitted, _"But it happened."_

Lizzie was silently begging for Hope's touch but as she got closer, the tribrid lowered her head,grabbing the blonde's hands and slowly detaching them from her face.

 _"I can't."_ she whispered and even though she was the one to break the contact, she was suffering more than the blonde, for having to do it.

Lizzie frowned in confusion. _"I'm sorry, I thought you wanted it, too."_

 _"Believe me, I do. But it's not right. Not until I know Landon is safe."_ said Hope honestly.

"Yeah, sure." Lizzie took a few steps back. "Just one question."

"Of course." Hope returned.

"Who the hell is Landon?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I included a Jasie scene in this chapter and honestly, I really enjoyed writting it. What are your thoughts? Would you like seeing Jasie scenes here and there, or do you prefer pure Hizzie? In any case, Hizzie is the main ship and will be the main story, of course. Thank you in advance for making it this far! See you in the next chapter.


	6. Landon who?

## Chapter 6 - Landon who?

_How did I not see this coming?_ Hope had rushed back to her room after the enlightening encounter she had with Lizzie the previous night. She had found an excuse and left the siphon alone, without any explanation for where she was going or why a random boy was the reason for Hope's hesitation. But it was impossible for her to begin to explain what the hell was happening, at least until she could think about it first. Hope hadn't slept at all that night. She kept wondering if she should come clean to everyone about who Landon was, so they could all remember him when he would come back, or keep quiet to spare them the pain, in case he wouldn't. _How did everyone just forget something like this would happen? How did **I** forget? _She beat herself up. And then there was Lizzie. _Did that happen? Did Lizzie Saltzman actually say she liked me? Maybe she was just hallucinating from the drugs._ She decided, but a little voice inside her head was hoping that maybe, just maybe.. Lizzie's confession had less to do with the pills and more with the fact that she didn't remember Landon. That maybe these feelings were already there and, now that he was not an obstacle in Lizzie's conscious, she found the strength to verbalize them. _What do I tell Lizzie? She's gonna want to know why I've been acting so weird._ Hope sighed and got out of bed. She needed a shower.

* * *

Lizzie had just woken up. She looked over for the alarm on the nightstand but instead, she saw the crumbs of the food she'd gobbled last night _. Last night._ Lizzie's memories of the previous night came back violently, forcing the siphon to face what she'd done.

_"Oh, my God, I said I liked her."_

_"What?"_ Josie scared her sister from the other bed.

_"What?"_ Lizzie jumped.

_"You said-"_

_"Nothing. I said nothing."_ Lizzie spat out and hurried to throw the pill bottle in the trash.

_"What are you doing?"_ Josie asked concerned.

_"I won't be needing them anymore. They make me act crazy."_ the blonde explained.

_"How's your arm?"_

_"Fine."_ she returned but then she thought about it. She couldn't face the tribrid after what went down last night. _"Actually, it hurts a little bit, I'm going to tell dad I'm skipping the classes for the day."_ Lizzie continued while getting dressed.

_"Uh.. okay."_ agreed Josie, but before she could say anything else, her twin was out of the room.

* * *

Alaric was at his office, doing some paperwork, when Lizzie barged in and stood in front of his desk.

_"Daddy, I need a day-off from the school."_

_"Why, what happened?"_ Ric asked concerned.

_"Nothing, I just need some time for my arm to heal."_

_"I'll talk to the teacher and ask him to go easy on you today."_ Alaric offered.

_"But dad-"_

_"Dr. Saltzman!"_ Hope entered the door in a rush, getting everyone's attention. _"Uh, sorry, I thought you were alone."_ she stood still at the door and apologized, looking at the siphon.

_"Well, he isn't, so, if you don't mind, we're in the middle of something."_ Lizzie spat out and turned back to her father.

_"What is it, Hope?"_ Alaric asked, making the siphon roll her eyes.

_"I was hoping we could talk about the Necromancer. He's going to make his move sooner or later. And Chad is still in the cell."_ Hope returned.

_Oh, my God, Chad_. Lizzie had completely forgotten she was supposed to go on a date with him.

"Come in. Lizzie, you will take all of your classes, as planned." ordered the headmaster. 

"Ugh!" Lizzie gave both of them a hostile look and left the office.

When she arrived outside the classroom, the blonde wavered.

_"Screw it."_ she said and headed to the cellar instead.

* * *

Chad was sitting on a wooden chair Alaric had brought him this morning, to make him a bit more comfortable. When he saw Lizzie coming through the door he stood up and took a few steps closer.

_"Chad."_ the blonde greeted him casually.

_"Hey, Lizzie, what are you doing here?"_ he returned sheepish.

_"What are **you** still doing here? I thought you served your purpose." _she said sarcastically.

_"I don't know!"_ he shrugged concerned. _"But if I'm being honest, I feel safer locked up in here, than if I were free, at his mercy."_

Lizzie could see the terror in his eyes. They had gotten him in this mess and even though it shouldn't be her concern, she couldn't but feel a little guilty about it.

_"Okay, let's go."_ she decided suddenly, siphoning the dungeon's door open.

_"What are you doing?"_ Chad was confused.

_"We are getting out of here."_ she replied calm.

_"Going where?"_

_"How about Thai?"_ Lizzie returned.

_"Are you still willing to go on this date with me? But I messed up with the plan."_ he said mind blown.

_"At least, you tried. Last chance before I change my mind."_ Lizzie started walking away slowly.

_"You don't have to ask me twice."_ he grinned from ear to ear and followed the girl out of the cell.

When the two of them made it to the main entrance, Hope stopped them.

_"Where do you two think you're going?_ " she said disturbed.

_"Uh, I would tell you, if it was actually any of your damn business."_ Lizzie returned salty.

_"Lizzie, can I speak to you privately?"_ Hope asked wearing a fake smile.

_"I don't know, can you?"_ before Lizzie could finish the sentence, she was dragged across the room from a very angry tribrid.

_"What are you doing? He's not supposed to get out yet."_ Hope argued.

_"Relax, I'm just taking him to eat something other than canned spaghetti."_

_"Why?"_

_"Since when are you so cold?"_ Lizzie said bewildered

_"Since when are you not?"_ Hope returned.

Lizzie gave her a death stare and started walking away.

_"Is this about last night?"_ Hope said loudly, making the blonde freeze in position.

After a few seconds, the siphon turned back to face her again. 

_"Get over yourself."_ she said offended.

_"Because if it is, don't go on that date with Chad."_ Hope had a hint of imploring in her voice.

_"Why?"_ she asked but the answer never came. _"Are you ready to tell me who Landon is?"_ she continued. 

Nothing. Hope just lowered her head and stayed quiet.

_"That's what I thought."_ Lizzie said disappointed. _"Don't worry, I'll have him back before sundown."_ she shook her head and walked away to join Chad, who was waiting at the door the whole time.

Hope felt a stab of jealousy, seeing them walking out of the school together, but decided to shove it down and go back to her room.

* * *

Chad was rambling about his life before he met 'Ted' but Lizzie hadn't heard a word. Despite her efforts, her mind was circling back to the previous night and the tribrid. _She clearly doesn't want something more. Fine. Whatever. On to the next one._ Lizzie looked at her date. _Chad is not bad. His good-looking and seems to like me.. but he doesn't have those beautiful blue eyes you can get lost inside. Nor that smile that can make you forget all about the very shitty day you had. He isn't-_

_"Lizzie."_ Chad pulled her out of the daydreaming.

_"Huh?"_

_"Don't you like the food? You've barely touched it."_

_"No, the food is fine."_ Lizzie returned.

_"Does this have something to do with Hope?"_ Chad dared to ask, surprising the blonde.

_"What? No. Did she say something?"_ she panicked.

_"Didn't have to. I'm telling you, she has the biggest crush on you."_

_"No, she hasn't."_ Lizzie rushed to say.

_"Are you kidding me? I thought she was going to kill me when I asked for a date with you."_

_"No, that's just her face."_

_"You two aren't fooling anyone. At first, I thought it was just her. But now I see."_ Chad smirked.

_"Alright, smartass, if you've got it all figured out, why would you agree to go out with me?"_

_"Cause I think you're cool.. and honestly, anything is better than that cell. What's your excuse? Why are you here with me instead of her?"_

Lizzie paused and thought about it for a second. She was so tired of hiding her feelings from everyone. _It might feel good to get it out of my chest. And telling that to a random guy seems the most reasonable thing to do._

_"Okay, listen. If I ever find out you repeated what you heard here today, you're going to wish the Necromancer had gotten to you first."_ Lizzie threatened.

_"You're so hot when you do that."_ Chad remarked excited.

* * *

Hope was going crazy. She was walking nervously back and forth across her room, waiting for Lizzie to come back. _What if Chad had deceived her and ran away?_ She kept thinking but, in reality, the possibility of Lizzie having fun with him was way more upsetting to the tribrid. _This is my fault. I fucked up and now.._ Hope was losing her mind. She couldn't help but wonder how things would be, if she hadn't stopped Lizzie last night. If their lips had touched, if she'd actually had the chance to do to her the things she had imagined doing a million times before. _No. You can't think about her like that._ The tribrid did the right thing by not leading her on. This could not happen. She had Landon to think about. But Lizzie had not. And she deserved an explanation.

Lizzie was back at school with Chad before dark, as promised. The two of them entered the gate and found Hope staring at them from the front door.

_"We're busted."_ Chad joked.

_"What does she want from me?"_ Lizzie rolled her eyes.

_"You seriously don't know?"_

_"Shut up."_

_"Don't worry, I know where my cell is."_ Chad pecked the blonde and winked at her, walking towards the school.

Hope's blood was boiling inside of her, witnessing the scene and Lizzie's smile directed to Chad. As the boy got closer, it took everything in her power not to tear him apart right there, especially after seeing his smug face when he nodded at her. She managed to remain calm, however, letting the man get past the entrance, then looked back at the blonde.

_"Whatever it is, save it."_ Lizzie said exhausted, once she arrived at the front door, too.

_"How was your date?"_ Hope returned supposedly casual, folding her arms.

_"I'm leaving."_ Lizzie declared, moving past the tribrid, heading to her room.

_"Wait."_ Hope turned back to see the girl walking away.

_"What?"_ Lizzie said without turning around.

_"I owe you an explanation about yesterday."_ Hope claimed.

_"As I was saying. Save it."_ she responded and started walking again.

_"I'm gonna tell you about Landon."_ Hope yelled in a final effort to stop her friend.

Lizzie paused but before she could say anything, she saw her father storming in. She turned to Hope and closed her eyes tightly, knowing what was about to go down.

_"What in the hell, Elizabeth?"_ Alaric was furious.

_"Hey, daddy!"_ she greeted all-enthusiastic, turning to face him like nothing had happened.

_"I explicitly told you to attend all of your classes. Where have you been?"_ he asked angrily.

_"I just needed some fresh air."_ Lizzie lied.

_"With Chad?"_ he crossed his arms, calling her out.

_"You told him?"_ Lizzie yelled at Hope.

_"You knew, too?"_ Alaric was outraged.

_"Dr. Saltzman-"_ Hope tried to fix it.

_"You're both in huge trouble."_ he let a deep breath out. _"Now, to your rooms. Both of you."_

The two girls knew there was nothing they could say right now, so they complied and quietly walked away. Once they made it to the hallway, right outside Hope's room, Lizzie stopped.

_"Are you going to invite me in or what?"_ Lizzie asked, showing the door with her hand.

_"Because you haven't gotten me into enough trouble for one day."_ Hope returned sarcastically.

_"Well, that's convenient."_

_"Is it?"_

_"You know what? Fuck you."_ complained Lizzie and turned to leave, when Hope's hand grabbed her arm, dragging her inside.

* * *

_"So, Landon is your Phoenix boyfriend, who the Necromancer had killed and we threw into the pit with the hope of Malivore bringing him back but now we've all forgotten about, besides you, who, surprise-surprise, remembers, cause you're special."_ Lizzie was trying to make sense from this mess.

_"Pretty much."_ Hope shrugged.

_"That's ridiculous."_ the blonde remarked. _"Wait for a monster to resurrect him, who is also, what the hell, his dad?"_

_"Ha."_ Hope shook her head entertained, hearing the ignorant girl bashing her own plan.

_"What?"_

_"Nothing, it's just.. **you** suggested it." _she revealed chuckling.

_"Ah!"_ Lizzie sounded offended, putting her hand on her chest like a true drama queen, which made the tribrid even more pleased. _"That doesn't sound like me."_

_"Tell me about it, I was surprised, too."_ Hope agreed.

_"So, you're telling me **I** , not only helped bring back to life a guy I don't particularly like, due to his affair with my sister and you, but also am the one that found the way to do it and got my arm hurt because of it?" _the siphon asked shocked but also kind of disturbed.

Hope smiled in return.

_"Why on earth would I ever do that?"_ Lizzie continued in disbelief.

_"Because,"_ as they were both sitting next to each other on her bed, Hope took Lizzie's hands in hers. _"You're not as selfish as you think you are."_

Lizzie looked down at their linked palms for a moment. _"Debatable."_ she smirked, once her eyes met Hope's again.

_"Come on, now you're just looking for compliments."_ Hope turned to look forward again, breaking the contact.

_"I am not!"_ Lizzie returned. _"But continue."_ she said primping her hair.

_"You're a dick."_ Hope rolled her eyes playful.

_"Now, that's more like it."_ she replied with a nod. _"However, I must say, knowing me, there's no way I suggested we throw him into the pit, without remembering the consequences. I'm astonished **you** forgot."_

_"Thanks for reminding me what a crappy girlfriend I am."_

_"I wasn't saying that. I must have known you wouldn't forget him and, honestly, that would have been enough for me."_

_"Wait, was that a.. compliment?"_ Hope looked at the siphon amazed.

_"Yeah, directed to **me** and **my** plan."_

_"Sure."_ she smirked.

After a few moments of silence, Lizzie decided to speak again. _"So... just to be clear."_ she immediately got Hope's attention, it was too late to back down now. _"This Landon-person is the only reason you-"_

_"Rejected you?"_

_"I wouldn't say reject.. but yeah. Basically."_ Lizzie tried to focus on anything but Hope's eyes.

_"Doesn't matter."_ Hope said uneasy.

_"Uh, kinda does."_ she finally looked at her friend.

_"It wouldn't change anything."_

_"Jesus, Hope, it's just a simple question, just answer it and we can go back to hating each other."_ Lizzie jumped on her feet, losing her patience.

_"Is this what you think I want?"_ the tribrid returned bewildered, standing up as well.

_"How could I possibly know what you want, when you never tell me what the fuck is it that you want?"_

_"You wanna know what I want?"_

_"Did I stutter?"_

Hope grabbed Lizzie's face, leading her into a kiss so passionate, that she felt like her heart would jump out of her chest. Lizzie, even though caught completely off guard, soon returned with the same lust, the same need to feel every inch of the other girl's body. They were out of breath, yet it felt like they were breathing for the first time. The blonde gave a small bite on the tribrid's lower lip, making her leave a low sound of pleasure between their kiss. It took every last remain of Hope's self-control to pull away. But it was too late. The damage had been done. They both looked at each other floored, unable to form a word. 

_"Damn."_ eventually said Hope, drowning in a pool of guilt, before she stormed off of her room.

The siphon just stood there, numb, slipped into oblivion. 

"Yeah." she said half-conscious, grazing her lips with her fingers.


	7. This was (not) a mistake

Chapter 7 - This was (not) a mistake

_"Do you love me?"_

Landon has holding the tribrid in his arms as they were resting in her bed. His question was sudden, but Hope knew the answer.

_"Of course, I do."_

They started kissing until Hope climbed on top of him. She tried to take off his shirt, but when the piece of clothing was above his head, his face turned into Lizzie's, making the girl jump.

_"Then why are you thinking about me?"_

Hope woke up in cold sweats, raising her back to see for herself that everything was normal. When she turned back to her pillow, relieved, she felt a hand laying on her waist.

_"What's going on, babe?"_

Hope turned her head to the left, in terror, to witness one sleepy Lizzie Saltzman smiling at her.

_"Lizzie? What are you doing here?"_

_"Uh, sleeping?"_ explained the blonde like it was the most natural thing in the world. 

_"But you weren't-"_ Hope said confused.

_"Don't worry, it was just a nightmare."_ Lizzie pecked the tribrid tenderly. _"I'm here now."_

_"I'm so glad you're here."_ returned Hope with a smile and kissed the siphon like they were the only two people on the planet.

Lizzie's eyes almost popped out of her head, once she opened them. She wasn't in Hope's room anymore. 

_"Fuck."_ Lizzie got out of her bed, thankful that, at least, Josie wasn't there to bomb her with questions again. _Where is she, though?_

* * *

Josie arrived at the old mill with two cups of fresh coffee in her hands. As she put them on the table in front of her, she suddenly felt Jade hugging her from behind, placing a small kiss on her neck.

_"Good morning, beautiful."_ she said perkily.

_"Hey!"_ Josie smiled with closed eyes and touched the vampire's hands that were resting around the siphon's stomach. _"I made some coffee."_ she continued giving one of the cups to Jade, who had now moved next to her.

_"God, you are the best."_ the ginger said and took a sip.

_"I'm really glad we agreed to meet here before classes."_ Josie admitted coy.

_"Can't think of a better way to start my day off."_ Jade returned, reaching for the brunette's palm.

_"You used to start off your day with a run around the premises."_ Josie remarked before realizing how stalkerish that sounded.

_"You remember?"_ Jade smirked amazed.

_"Uh, yeah, I mean, you were running outside of my classroom every day."_ Josie tried to save it.

_"Oh, yeah."_ she agreed but when Josie thought she was covered, the vampire continued. _"And, with the fear of sounding like Lizzie.. you totally had a crush on me, back then."_

_"I had not!"_ Josie said, pretending to be offended.

_"You totally had! I thought it was cute."_ Jade said more pleased than she should be.

_"Hey, stop mocking me, I was six."_ Josie made her face even poutier than usual.

_"I'm not! If anything, I was flattered."_ she giggled.

_"Stop it."_ the siphon hid her face in her hands, to deflect the shame.

_"Okay, okay."_ Jade complied. _"What about now?"_ she asked.

_"What?"_ Josie uncovered her face.

_"You're not six anymore."_

_"No, I'm not."_ Josie looked at the girl for a moment. _"But yes, I do now."_

_"Do what?"_ Jade grinned and moved closer, knowing exactly what the witch meant.

_"Like you. Like, a lot."_ she admitted shyly.

_"I like you, too."_ Jade whispered on her way to Josie's lips. _"If only you could let me show you just how much."_ she said between their kisses, pulling her closer.

_"That's not fair,"_ Josie moaned with her eyes closed while Jade was preoccupied, playing with her neck. _"We agreed to no sex at school and you're making it really hard to follow through."_

_"Well, technically, we are not **in** theschool."_ Jade smirked behind the siphon's ear.

_"I'm sorry, I can't."_ Josie stopped the vampire.

_"I don't wanna sound like an asshole, but what's the matter? If we both want-"_ she paused _"Unless you don't want this."_ Jade realized in terror.

_"No, Jade, it's not.. it's just, my dad run this school and I-"_ Josie tried to explain.

_"I'm not dumb, Jose. That ain't it. Just decide whether you want this or not and quit toying with me."_ Jade spat out upset and vamped out.

* * *

Lizzie entered the kitchen looking for her sister but instead, she found Hope pouring some coffee in her mug. A few moments of them just staring at each other in total silence passed by, until Hope decided to talk.

_"Hey."_ she said softly.

_"Coffee."_ the blonde spat out.

_"What?"_

_"You're spilling your coffee."_ explained Lizzie, pointing at the mug that Hope had let overflow.

_"Oh my God!"_ the shorter girl hurried to close the coffee machine and took some napkins to clean up the wet floor.

_"Have you seen Josie?"_ Lizzie asked distanced.

_"Uh, no, why?"_ Hope stood up again.

_"Never mind."_ the siphon rolled her eyes and proceeded to continue her searching elsewhere.

_"Lizzie, hang on."_ the tribrid stopped her.

_"What?"_

_"I just wanted to say.. the other night-"_

_"Was a mistake? Yeah, whatever, Hope."_

_"I'm sorry."_ she returned full of guilt, as the witch was exiting the room.

Lizzie froze for a second and then decided she wasn't going to let that pass.

_"You know, you say that a lot, lately."_ she turned to face the girl again.

_"I'm-"_ Hope sighed. _"Just please, try to understand my position here."_

_"The only thing I understand is that you have no intention of making up your mind and I have no interest in playing this game anymore."_

_"I've never seen you as a game, Lizzie."_ Hope said truthfully, approaching the blonde. _"I care about you."_

_"You have a really shitty way of showing it."_ Lizzie protested.

_"You're right."_ she gave her a sad smile. _"That doesn't mean it's not true."_

Hope gently placed her hands on Lizzie's cheeks, forcing her to stop avoiding the tribrid's eyes, to see that she wasn't lying. Lizzie got lost in those beautiful ocean blue eyes for a second.

_"No."_ she finally said, pulling back. _"You can't do that. You can't tell me this is wrong and then look at me like that."_

_"I'm sorry, I wasn't trying-"_

_"Stop. Apologizing."_ Lizzie had had enough. _"I'm not crazy, Hope, I know you feel it, too."_

_"Of course you're not, I-"_

Josie suddenly barged in, extremely upset, interrupting the heavy moment and getting both their attention. Lizzie's expression changed from angry victim, to cold but curious sister, in a matter of seconds.

_"I've been looking for you."_ she complained but seeing Josie being on the brink of a breakdown, she decided to ask instead. _"What's the matter with you?"_

_"It's nothing."_ the brunette replied, holding back a tear.

_"Is this wannabe vampire-nurse practitioner bothering you? Just when I needed the banter. Okay, where is she?"_ Lizzie assumed all by herself and just like that, she was filled with rage, ready for a fight.

_"Lizzie, stop."_ Josie yelled, pulling her out of her fantasy. _"Jade didn't do anything. It's my fault."_

Josie took a deep breath and started explaining everything that had happened between them until this morning, emphasizing how mad her lover was before leaving her. The two girls listened carefully and when Jo was done, Lizzie proceeded to speak.

_"That little bitch is"_ she took a moment to appreciate the irony _"absolutely right to be mad at you!"_

_"What?"_ both girls asked at once, stunned by the turn of this sentence.

_"You heard me. Cause you, sissy, are inconsistent. You've led her on, what, two times already and then just left her hanging. And that's just plain evil."_

Josie was still really confused as opposed to Hope, who was starting to understand what this was really about.

_"I know you care about dad but he's not even here, it's okay to admit you've moved on."_

_"What?"_ Josie had no idea what her twin was talking about.

_"And if you haven't, just stop messing with poor Jade."_ Lizzie continued, ignoring her sister.

_"Did you just say 'poor Jade'?"_ Josie said bewildered.

Hope was just observing, wrecked from the damage she had caused to both of them.

_"The point is,"_ Lizzie softened, touching her sister's hand _"You can't keep everybody happy. I know you want to. But when you're trying so hard to keep everybody happy, no one is."_

Hope lowered her glance.

_"To be completely honest, I'm kinda.. not ready to have sex with her yet."_ Jo admitted.

_"Ew. That's not what this is about."_ Lizzie came to her senses.

_"Then tell her you're not ready for such a big step yet."_ Hope finally spoke. _"It's okay. If she really cares, I'm sure, she'll understand."_ she said fixating her eyes on Lizzie.

_"Yeah, you're right."_ Jo returned. _"In fact, I'm going to tell her right now. Thanks, guys."_ the brunette said determined and left the kitchen.

The two girls shared a look, before Lizzie walked out of the room as well, leaving the tribrid all alone with her thoughts.

* * *

The blonde was in her room, reorganizing her closet. It didn't need reorganizing, but she had to do something to avoid her thoughts, keep busy. After a little while, Josie walked in.

_"How did it go?"_ Lizzie asked.

_"It didn't. I couldn't find her."_

_"Oh. Well, you can help me with the clothes."_ she suggested, throwing a shirt at her sister.

_"Sure, I guess."_ Josie joined her twin, sitting on the floor. _"So... What's with you and Hope?"_

_"What do you mean?"_ Lizzie tried to be apathetic, putting some shorts in the drawer.

_"I know something is going on between you two. Do you think I didn't notice that you were talking about her before, in the kitchen?"_

_"Jo.."_

_"I'm your twin, if you can't share things like this with me-"_

_"She kissed me, okay?"_ Lizzie spat out before she could think about it, just to make her stop.

_"Okay.."_ Josie said expecting to hear more.

_"No, that's it."_

_"Well, you like her, right?"_ the brunette tried to make sense of all this.

_"Maybe."_ Lizzie murmured, avoiding eye contact.

_"So, what's the problem?"_

To Lizzie's advantage, the door knocked just in time to interrupt this insufferable conversation and Alaric came in.

_"Hey, girls."_

_"Hi, dad."_ they both replied simultaneously, standing up to greet him.

_"I just wanted to check up on you."_ he said softly. _"And also remind **you** , young lady,"_ he continued in a stricter voice, looking at Lizzie _"are not out of the woods for yesterday."_

_"It was just a walk outside."_ the blonde tried to convince him to sweep this under the rug, ignoring her sister's confused questioning looks.

_"Not another word. Cleaner duties for a week, starting tomorrow, with the old mill."_ Lizzie didn't have the time to respond, since Alaric rushed to add; _"I love you."_ along with a big forehead kiss to the both of them and a quick hug before he left.

_"What was that? What did you do?"_ Josie asked once they were alone again.

_"I just grabbed some food.. with Chad."_

_"Why would you do that?"_

_"Because I said I would, it's not a big deal."_

_"Is that why you and Hope are fighting?"_

_"What? No, that had nothing to do with it."_ Lizzie said, offended that she even thought about it.

_"Sure, sure, that sounds like Hope.. not caring at all that you went on a date with someone else. Especially when she nearly locked you up, too, to make sure you wouldn't go. Makes sense."_

_"Sarcasm suits you as much as three months' worth of unshaved beard does on dad."_

_"Stop dodging and tell me what happened."_ Josie got serious.

_"We're bad for each other."_ Lizzie spilled out. 

_"Either way, you need to make up."_

_"Leave it alone."_ the blonde said angry.

_"This affects all of us, Lizzie, not just the two of you."_ Jo returned, scolding her sister.

_"Why don't you go fix **your** messed-up love life and stay the hell out of mine?"_

Silence. They only exchanged a hostile look before Josie stormed off, leaving her twin alone. Lizzie crossed her arms out of stubbornness and looked away. When the door closed, she faced it again, with a part of her feeling bad for being so harsh on the brunette, but her ego would never let her admit it out loud.

* * *

Hope was in the library, looking for some quiet. _It's okay to admit that you've moved on._ Lizzie's words were keep coming back to her mind, forming an unbearable knot in her stomach. Landon hadn't shown any signs of life in three days, since they reunited him with his father and Hope could catch herself forgetting about it. And that was encouraging her self-loathing grow even stronger. That, and the fact that Lizzie wouldn't even look at her anymore. At least, not like she used to. _What if she's right? What if I've moved on and by not admitting it to myself, I just make everyone miserable?_ Hope knew what she wanted. She did for quite some time now. Before she knew it, she was standing outside the blonde's door. Before she could even think about knocking, Josie scared her.

_"What happened?"_ Hope asked the siphon, seeing how upset she left her room.

_"Lizzie happened."_ she explained, still angry. _"You two need to pull your shit together."_

_"What?"_ the tribrid said uneasy.

_"Not you, too. I thought you, at least, would be adult about this."_ Josie shook her head in disapproval.

_"I'm trying. It's complicated."_ Hope sighed.

_"So she keeps saying."_ Jo rolled her eyes. _"Just remember that before all of this, we were all friends. So, whatever this is.. is it worth screwing everything up?"_

Hope lowered her eyes. 

"Yeah." Josie said and left the tribrid staring at the siphon's door.

* * *

Jade was in her room, reading a 2020 magazine Alaric had borrowed her. She had a lot to catch up on. _Thank God, I was trapped in a prison world._ The music through her EarPods was so loud, she couldn't hear the repetitive knock on her door. Suddenly, she looked up to see Josie staring at her awkwardly.

_"Oh, hi."_ she said taking her EarPods off. 

_"Hey.. I- sorry, I knocked but um.."_ Jo tried to explain.

_"It's okay. Did you need something?"_

_"Uh, yeah, actually.. I wanted to talk about this morning."_ she admitted, approaching the vampire.

_"So, talk."_ she returned supposedly apathetic. She was still a little hurt from before, but she could never hold anything against Josie.

_"Okay, so, here's the thing.."_ the siphon joined her on the bed, sitting on the foot of it. _"I really like you. I do. And I don't want to screw this up."_ she said truthfully.

Jade was listening close, to everything the brunette had to say. 

_"But if I'm being honest, I'm not ready to.. you know."_ she continued, avoiding eye contact at all costs, dying inside from the embarrassment.

_"Wait, what?"_ Jade said confused, expecting anything but this .

_"I'm sorry, I-"_

_"Why are you apologizing?"_ the vampire paled _"Oh, my God, did I pressure you into something?"_ she looked at the witch in terror.

_"No, of course not."_ Josie reassured her. _"Everything was one hundred percent consensual."_

_"I don't understand. Why didn't you just tell me?"_ Jade was hurt that Jo felt the need to keep this a secret.

_"Because.. it's stupid but.. I know we're technically the same age but sometimes I still see you as this elusive dream, the cool older girl I couldn't help having a crush on. And I just.. I didn't want you to see me as that little girl who was too afraid to even talk to you. And now I said that out loud, it's frustrating because I just proved I'm still that girl, too scared to talk to you. Fuck."_ Josie explained in one breath, making the vampire chuckle. She gave her a confused frown.

_"You're right. That **is** stupid." _Jade said humorously. _"Look at me, Jose."_ her serious tone returned, as she held the girl's hands. _"I do not see you as the sweet six-year-old girl I used to know ten years ago. I see you as the beautiful woman you are today, the woman I wanna be with."_ Josie froze at her words but the ginger continued _"So, I'm gonna need to know things like that in the future. Okay?"_

_"Okay."_ the brunette agreed with pleasure, staring at two glowing blue eyes.

_"So, should we watch a movie or-"_ Jade started to offer but Josie's lips cut her in the middle.

_"In a bit."_ she smirked on the girl's welcoming mouth.

* * *

Hope was staring at the closed door for too long. Suddenly, it opened from the inside.

_"I can feel your anxiety from here."_ Lizzie spat out and returned to her bed, leaving the door unobstructed for the tribrid to follow.

Hope came in and sat on Josie's bed, across from the blonde. She needed a safe distance. 

_"So?"_ Lizzie rushed the shorter girl, followed by a moment of silence.

_"This was not a mistake."_ the tribrid finally spoke.

_"I'm waiting for the 'but'."_ Lizzie returned shortly after, waiting to hear every single reason they shouldn't be together.

_"There aren't any."_ Hope reassured the siphon. _"The truth is, I wanted to kiss you, so, I did. And I don't regret a single second of it."_

_"Continue."_

_"The thing is.. I realized that our friendship is more important and I don't wanna risk anything ruining it."_ the shorter girl tried to explain.

_"You realized. You mean you decided. Whatever, Hope."_ Lizzie remained calm, hiding well how much it affected her.

_"I don't wanna lose you."_ she spilled out, all of a sudden, trying to stop the siphon from leaving.

Lizzie paused and slowly returned to the tribrid, who was still sitting on the bed. She kneeled in front of her and touched her arm. 

_"Don't worry."_ she said softly, _"You never had me."_

Hope's already scant smile faded completely in the girl's words, and her eyes followed her, restless, as she got up on her feet and walked away like nothing happened.


	8. Old mill and chill

## Chapter 8 - Old mill and chill

Lizzie's room was cold, the blonde was shivering under the covers. Or so she felt. Because in fact, the temperature was high, it was almost summer and everyone was outside, enjoying the sun on a Saturday morning. Everyone but her. She was still in bed, feeling sick, keep thinking about the previous night. Was she too hard on Hope? No, she got what she deserved. Yet, Lizzie couldn't get over that look on the tribrid's face before she left the room. She was devastated. And although that shouldn't be the siphon's concern, there she was, caring. _Whatever._ She pulled the sheets off of her body and got up, determined not to let Hope make her day less productive. She put some clothes on and walked in the library, where she found Mg and Alaric doing some research.

 _"Morning."_ Lizzie greeted the two devoted to their books men.

 _"Good morning, Lizzie!"_ returned MG.

 _"Morning, honey. Are you taking a break?"_ Alaric asked casually.

 _"Um, yeah, if you meant break from sleeping."_ spat out the blonde before she remembered what she was supposed to be doing today and continued, slower and louder _"Kidding, of course I was at the old mill all morning, taking the punishment you so righteously inflicted on me, because I listen to everything you say and learn from it, now excuse me while I get back there, where I was aaall morning!"_ and with that she quickly left, ignoring her father's and friend's confused looks.

 _Fuck, that was close!_ she thought and rushed to the mill.

When she got there, she found it in much better condition than she thought it would be. It was still a little dusty, but there wasn't any garbage on the floor or the furniture. With a quick calculation, Lizzie would be done by lunch time.

 _"Well, it's not that bad."_ she shrugged.

 _"You're welcome."_ said a voice from the first floor. 

Lizzie looked up to see Hope staring back at her, holding a broom and a plastic bag filled with crispy leaves.

 _"You gotta be kidding me."_ she sighed and rolled her eyes at once.

 _"I'm not enjoying this either but it has to be done, cause in case you've forgotten, I'm being punished, too."_ Hope returned feisty.

 _"Great."_ Lizzie spat out and reached for a mop.

 _"We need to hose it down first."_ suggested the tribrid.

_"Just be concerned about the first floor and I'll be about the ground."_

_"Easy for you to say, now I've almost finished the ground floor."_

_"So, what, feel the need to throw that bag all over so I can clean it up from scratch?"_ the blonde said wryly.

 _"Just get started."_ Hope sighed and got back to it.

 _"Just get started."_ Lizzie repeated mockingly and started mopping.

The first half an hour passed in complete silence, the only voice echoing was Halsey's and it was coming from Hope's phone. She was used to always put some music on, it made cleaning seem less of a chore and this time was no different. Lizzie was at the bottom floor, minding her own business and determined to under no circumstances show even the slightest bit of excitement over the shorter girl's music taste. The song ended and it's place took a remix of "Girls just wanna have fun". Lizzie's job was extra hard now that her jam was on but she managed not to sing along. She continued mopping secretly enjoying the beat, until she heard Hope singing low. She looked up to see the tribrid on the edge of the balcony, using the broom as a microphone and acting like she's giving a live performance with the crowd below her all hyped up , dancing and screaming the lyrics. Hope hadn't noticed the siphon who had stopped everything she was doing to attend the concert, hiding behind a tree. She kept singing, pointing at the invisible crowd to finish the lyric every so often, which Lizzie found so entertaining to watch. Once the song was over, Hope bowed thanking her fans and got back to cleaning like nothing happened. But the blonde didn't move, she kept looking at her friend, speechless from what she had just witnessed. The tribrid reached for the spigot and turned it on but she didn't consider the pressure and the hose started bouncing, causing her to fall and splattering her. Lizzie couldn't hold it anymore. She bursted into laughter, so hard that her ribs were hurting. 

_"Is this amusing to you?"_ Hope growled helping herself up. 

_"Very."_ the siphon said, wheezing from all the laughter.

Hope grabbed the edge of her top, lifted it to the high of her bra and started draining it. The view made Lizzie gulp. She blinked twice and decided it was time to get back to work. As she proceeded to clean the dust off the table, cold water hit her head from above, soaking her. The blonde's mouth opened in bemusement and her shoulders lifted as a reflex to the shock.

 _"What about now?"_ Hope said smug, with a cheeky smile.

Lizzie looked up and stared at the tribrid, who was holding the empty bucket that was previously containing the liquid.

 _"You didn't."_ Lizzie threatened.

 _"Oh, I think I did."_ the girl returned with glowing eyes.

The siphon ran to the fixture near her and grabbed the hose, aiming at the tribrid. She looked away for a second to turn it on but when she turned back, Hope had already jumped to the ground. Freezing water was hitting the shorter girl's body as she was approaching to the vengeful witch. Lizzie started stepping backwards to keep control of the _weapon._ Hope reached her easily but she managed to get away with it still in her hands. Once she was in a safe distance, Lizzie raised an eyebrow, suggesting that she won. 

_"Motus."_ Hope opened her hand and welcomed the hose, which was magically removed from the blonde's in a second. It was Hope's turn to raise an eyebrow in return.

 _"Hey, that's cheating."_ Lizzie protested but the damage had already been done and the enemy had the advantage, so she decided to start running.

 _"I don't recall us agreeing to no magic."_ the shorter girl shrugged and resumed her mission. _"Just say you surrender and I'll show you mercy."_ she continued pointing the hose at her.

The blonde ran in an effort to hide behind the tree again, this time to avoid the tribrid, but all this mopping and water fight had made the floor extra slippery, causing the witch to fall badly.

 _"Lizzie!"_ Hope immediately dropped the hose and ran to her wounded friend. _"Are you okay?"_ she asked truly concerned, reaching the siphon's level to get a closer look and make sure she wasn't seriously hurt.

 _"My arm."_ Lizzie was wheezing, holding her once before injured part as she was laying on the floor, unable to stand up.

 _"Let me see."_ Hope kneeled and took Lizzie's arm in her hands, trying to examine it. 

The blonde placed her palm in Hope's cheek and looked her straight in the eyes. The tribrid had almost forgotten how good that felt. She closed her eyes momentarily and when she opened them again, she was looking into hers. She was getting weaker and weaker but she couldn't care less.

 _"Hope.."_ Lizzie said innocent. 

The tribrid loved hearing her name when it was coming from this mouth. It felt like an invitation and Hope wasn't willing to keep resisting.

 _"Yes?"_ she returned full of expectations.

 _"I will never surrender."_ Lizzie claimed snarkily, once she was fully charged and with one move, the shorter girl was thrown across the room.

 _"Oh, that was a low blow."_ Hope said spiteful, as she got up and cleared the dust off of her clothes.

 _"I don't recall us agreeing to no magic."_ Lizzie repeated Hope's words, so proud of herself for managing to trick and siphon her friend.

 _"I wasn't talking about the magic."_ Hope tried and failed not to show her disappointment that had nothing to do with the water fight.

 _"Well, you're only bitter you can't win."_ the siphon said in an attempt to justify herself for possibly going too far. _"Invisique."_ she chanted making herself invisible and Hope's job more difficult.

 _Well, that's classy_. Hope opened her arms in a position of defense and started walking, looking around to every possible direction. Suddenly the source of water started moving towards the tribrid from behind. Hope heard it but kept walking, waiting for the right moment and-

_"Gotcha!"_

In a matter of seconds, Hope managed to trip the siphon and sat on her waist to immobilize her. Lizzie's powers faded and she became visible once again, under the tribrid's wet body. 

_"Let go of me!"_ she struggled to break free for a few moments but then she just stopped. She looked at Hope with eyes full of desire. She extended her hand to touch Hope's and regain some magic but the tribrid moved faster, restraining both of her arms down. _Not this time_. 

_"You were saying?"_ Hope shrugged with a devious smile.

Lizzie struggled some more in response but Hope's body was glued to hers, making it impossible to escape. 

_"Say you surrender."_ Hope demanded, moving her head a little closer to Lizzie's.

The blonde lifted hers from the floor to reduce the space between them even more. _"Not gonna happen."_ she returned spiteful, yet kind of amused.

Hope was staring at the siphon's lips the entire time, unable to do what she wanted to since the beginning of this fight, whether this was dousing her with cold water or playing with those smug, beautiful lips. Lizzie returned to the ground panting. Their breaths were heavy and rough from all the struggle but neither of them willing to give up. Before she could realize it, Hope was no longer making an effort to hold the witch down. Her hands were just laying on the girl's wrists. And although Lizzie could feel it, she didn't move. She wasn't trying to escape anymore. Truth be told, she was right where she wanted to be.

_"Uhm.."_

Both girls turned their heads to identify the intruder that so rudely interrupted them, soon realizing it was the ginger vampire staring back at them confused.

 _"Jade."_ was all the tribrid could say, considering the position she was found in.

 _"Uh.. My mistake! Continue."_ Jade panicked and proceeded to leave the room but then she turned around again _"Or don't! I mean, it's not really my place to sa-"_

 _"Just go."_ the vampire drove Lizzie mad, causing her to break her silence.

 _"Done."_ Jade agreed and vamped out faster than it took to finish the sentence.

Once she was out of sight, the two girls stared at each other again, this time really uncomfortable.

_"We should-"_

_"Yeah."_ Hope agreed and quickly detached herself from the laying siphon.

They spent the rest of the morning in silence, cleaning the dusty mill with the addition of the mess they had made, yet this time the atmosphere was lighter, it was clear that the two girls were no longer mad at each other. 

* * *

They were done by lunch time and decided to go to the dining room to join the rest of the Salvatore students. When they arrived there, they felt two pairs of eyes burning their skin. Josie's hand lifted, waving towards them as an invitation but Jade's look next to her was suggesting trouble. The ginger stared at the two girls momentarily and then quickly looked away in complete awkwardness. Lizzie turned to look at the tribrid, seeking for an answer to _what the hell do we do_ but all she witnessed was the shorter girl already staring at her with the same look.

 _"Come on, we saved you two seats!"_ Josie yelled from across the room causing some heads to turn around and look at the two girls, giving them no choice but to comply.

Lizzie moved reluctantly towards the couple and Hope followed as they took their seats next to one another. 

_"So, what happened at the old mill?"_ Josie asked curious, making the vampire unable to digest her food correctly and the two friends to look at a loss the choking girl.

 _"Nothing."_ Lizzie said while Jade was taking a big sip of water.

"Weren't you two supposed to clean it up?" the brunette continued, making clear to the girls that Jade hadn't mentioned their previous encounter.

 _"Oh, that. Yes, it's squeaky clean."_ the blonde rushed to explain.

 _"Great."_ returned her sister but when Lizzie though she was out of the woods, she added _"So, why are you wet?"_

 _"It was really hot and we jumped from the dock after cleaning."_ Hope came to the rescue, feeling Jade's stare burning her once more.

_"With your clothes on?"_

_"Who wants milkshakes?"_ Jade stepped in, aware of how awkward this was getting.

Lizzie and Hope raised their hand simultaneously and Josie gave them a confused look.

 _"What about you, babe?"_ the ginger turned to her girlfriend caressing her back tenderly.

 _"I'm good, thanks."_ Jo returned and placed a small kiss on the vampire's lips.

 _"Like you won't end up drinking mine."_ Jade said playful and pecked the siphon before she left for the drinks.

Witnessing this scene made Lizzie a tad nauseous but for Hope was different. She wanted this. She wanted what they had. She gave the blonde a quick gaze and got back to the food in front of her.

* * *

Hope was freshly out of the shower, laying on her bed with the towel still wrapped around her body, staring at the ceiling. The last two weeks were intense and she couldn't keep up with her thoughts. Everything was a mess, from Landon being lost since they threw him into the pit to the Necromancer and whatever evil plan he's preparing to avenge them this time. But as awful as that sounded, in Hope's mind at least, the thing she was most worked up about was Lizzie. She just couldn't leave her head, every time she was trying to think of a way to defend this school in case of an attack or what might have happened to her boyfriend, a memory of her would show up and mess with her head. And she hated that. As much as she resented herself for it, the previous night's conversation had wrecked her. All she ever wanted was to have friends in this school. And when she finally did, she had to mess it up with feelings. And when Lizzie denied her friendship last night, every waking moment of self-hatred crawled back to the surface. Because the truth was, Hope didn't want to be her friend either. She wanted more. But that fear of failure ruined yet another chance at happiness. But maybe not completely. Perhaps there was still a chance for the two of them. Hope's lips formed a crooked smile in the thought of this morning. She recalled the moment Lizzie realized she was being attacked from above and cracked up. _At least now I know why she likes messing with everyone. It's so damn funny._ Hope replayed every moment in her head, until she reached this particular that made her blush all over again. The memory of the girl laying underneath her gave her a rush. Suddenly, all she could think of was how it would feel like to rip those soggy clothes off and scout every inch of the blonde with her tongue. Before she realized it, her hand was trailing her thigh, getting higher and higher, lifting slightly the towel to her hip. As her fingers were moving painfully slow closer to her center, her breathing got heavier. _What are you doing?_ Hope knew she shouldn't be doing it but the more she tried to resist the more she needed to. 

_"Fuck!"_ she whispered realizing how ready she was. _"Stop."_ she commanded herself and removed her hand from her soaking entrance. 

_What the fuck am I doing?_ Hope panicked and dragged her towel down again, ending up right where she started, staring at the ceiling bewildered. Luckily or not, her thoughts got interrupted by a knock on the door. The tribrid jumped to her feet like the bed was lava and yelled; 

_"Just a sec!"_

_"C'mon, I have other things to do."_

_Fuck, fuck, fuck._ Hope's head was about to explode hearing Lizzie's voice. 

_"I'm coming!"_ she returned hopping on one leg while trying to put her shorts on the other and then reddened even more at the irony of what she'd just said. _"I mean, I'll be there, I'm close, oppening the door now."_ Hope was rambling until arm crossed baffled Lizzie was examining her cautiously, still standing at her doorstep.

 _"Did you slip in the shower and hit your head, Mikaelson?"_ she remarked while inviting herself in.

 _"No, I- What are you doing here?"_ Hope asked concerned, closing the door.

_"Dad said you have to do the stables tomorrow."_

_"I?"_

_"Fine. We have to do the stables tomorrow."_ Lizzie rolled her eyes.

Hope examined the girl for a second. This would normally make her sigh but now she'd take a glimpse of Lizzie's soft side, the stiff facade seemed just so.. adorable to her.

 _"That's it?"_ the tribrid asked folding her arms and raising an eyebrow.

 _"What's it?_ " Lizzie played dump.

 _"You could've texted that."_ Hope tried to get her to talk about why she was really there.

 _"I should've."_ the siphon spat out stubbornly and headed for the door.

Hope gave a fight with her thoughts for a moment, watching the blonde walking away. _This is it. Now is the time. Say something. Come on, you pussy. You want her to stay. Make her stay._ The tribrid opened her mouth determined to stop the siphon when-

 _"Ugh, fine, that was not it."_ Lizzie turned around irritated.

Hope pressed her lips against each other again and raised her eyebrows in shock. _What's happening?_ She wavered for a bit but decided to let the woman in front of her talk this time. Lizzie didn't need an invitation to sit on Hope's bed and wait for her to join. The tribrid placed herself next to her, patiently waiting for an explanation.

 _"I also wanted to talk about.. well, yesterday."_ Lizzie finally spilled.

The last word brought the shorter girl cruelly back to reality. _"Oh."_ she exclaimed not knowing what to expect.

 _"I.. I was possibly a tiny bit harsh on you."_ she admitted softly, turning to look the girl on her left but when she caught a glimpse of joy on Hope's face, she hurried to add in a much stricter voice _"Even though you totally deserved it!"_

Hope looked down guilty without saying a word.

 _"Anyway,"_ she softened again, _"I was thinking.. we're cool."_

 _"We are?"_ the girl looked at her friend full of hope.

_"Sure, we don't have to make it a big deal."_

_Wait. "What thing?"_ Hope asked uncertain.

 _"I mean, it was nothing, when I got into your head you kinda got into mine and I... I don't know what I was thinking really, I mean, you and me? Can you imagine?"_ Lizzie chuckled in the thought.

 _"Yeah, ha ha."_ Hope forced a laugh.

_"You said it yourself, it's not worth losing our friendship over."_

_"Are you calling me your friend now?"_ Hope remarked doubtful.

_"You know, sometimes it's hard to remember that you're not actually that bad."_

_"Sometimes like this morning."_

_"No, that actually reminded me why I-"_ Lizzie stopped, feeling her throat closing by Hope's stare _"This morning was fun."_ she admitted kind of blushed.

 _"It was, wasn't it?"_ Hope agreed resting her hands on the bed behind her back and leaning on them.

 _"Whatever."_ Lizzie dodged playful. _"As long as you don't thow a bucket of mud at me tomorrow at the stables."_ she got defensive.

 _"Deal."_ she returned bumping the blonde's shoulder with her own.

 _"See you tomorrow?"_ Lizzie said standing up and getting ready to leave.

 _"Uh, sure... bestie."_ Hope returned making an awkward, gun-like gesture with her hands.

_"Don't push it."_

_"Yep."_

Lizzie gave the tribrid a last smile before she closed the door. The sound of it felt like a cue that Hope could finally let that breath she was holding for a while out. She dropped that fake beam and buried herself in the pillow. Lizzie apologized in her own fucked-up way and the two of them were on good terms again. Everything worked out.

So, why was she feeling like an unbearable weight was attached to her chest?


	9. Game on

## Chapter 9 - Game on

A week had passed since the old mill events and the two girls had already forgotten about it. They'd spent these past seven days cleaning and laughing and fighting and laughing again, so much that when Alaric told them they were done doing chores in their free time, they both tried to hide their disappointment. Even though it took a while for Hope to get used to it, being Lizzie's friend wasn't something she would ever complain about. As much as she wished it was more, their friendship meant the world to her and she wasn't gonna screw that up. Again.

It was Sunday and everyone was at the soccer field, today was the witches against vamps match. Lizzie's arm was still too fragile to play but she'd promised to Josie she would be there for emotional support. When she arrived, her eyes unwittingly searched for Hope but the tribrid was nowhere to be found. 

_"Hey, have you seen Hope?"_ Lizzie asked MG who happened to be next to her at that moment, doing some warm-ups.

 _"Not today, no."_ he returned but seeing her bummed out, he continued _"But I think I heard her at dinner yesterday, saying that she might set this one out."_

 _"Oh. Okay, thanks, MG."_ Lizzie said settled and looked at her sister, who was too preoccupied with her girlfriend to notice she would be gone for a while.

The blonde arrived at the tribrid's door five minutes later and knocked twice. When the girl opened Lizzie felt offended by how unprepared her friend was for the game.

 _"Why are you still undressed?"_ she lectured the sleepy tribrid while storming into her room.

 _"Because I'm sleeping?"_ returned Hope rubbing her left eye.

 _"Why are you not playing?"_ Lizzie asked.

 _"On which team?"_ she said folding her arms.

 _"That's true."_ Lizzie shrugged. _"Well, that doesn't give you the right to skip it altogether. If **I** have to endure watching this game, then so do you." _

_"C'mooon, I barely slept last night."_ Hope complained like a kid that doesn't want to go to school.

_"Why, what's up?"_

_"Nothing, I was just thinking.. the Necromancer hasn't showed up yet."_ the shorter girl noticed worried.

 _"And he's not going to."_ Lizzie spat out with a steady, certain voice to calm her down.

_"How do you know?"_

_"Because."_ Lizzie shrugged _"I know people like him. He likes to talk a lot but never actually does anything. It's been two weeks. He would have made his move already."_

 _"Perhaps you're right."_ Hope gave it some thought.

 _"I usually am."_ she primped her blonde hair. _"Now, get dressed. You're coming with me."_

Hope sighed but followed Lizzie's orders.

* * *

Ten minutes later, the two girls were on the bench, joining the rest of the team. 

_"Where have you been? I thought you bailed."_ Josie lectured her twin once she got back.

 _"I would never."_ Lizzie said shocked but the looks she got in return suggested otherwise, so, she added _"Okay, I would. But I'm here, as promised. Hope wanted to join me."_

_"I-"_

_"You wanted to join me!"_ Lizzie insisted turning to face the tribrid next to her.

 _"Ready to lose?"_ Jade interrupted placing a kiss onto Jo's cheek.

"You wish." the brunette returned playful.

_"You're so hot when you're competitive."_

_"You're trying to distract me."_

_"You in that jersey will distract me through the entire game so, I'd say, it's only fair."_

_"Uhm"_ Lizzie exclaimed and coughed unapologetically.

 _"We better go find ourselves some seats."_ Hope intervened to avoid any conflict and turned to the couple _"Good luck to the both of you."_ she said and took Lizzie by the hand, leading her to the stands.

 _"Why didn't you let me express myself?"_ the siphon protested once they sat down.

 _"Because your mouth is usually very.. sharp."_ she remarked. _"Come on, they're cute."_

 _"They're not cute, they are annoying."_ Lizzie rolled her eyes.

 _"Annoyingly cute."_ Hope corrected, leaning to bump Lizzie's arm.

_"What's wrong with you today?"_

_"Nothing! Oh, look, it started."_ she pointed at the field.

 _"Here we go."_ Lizzie exhaled.

The game started with the vampires having the advantage. Kaleb managed to elude Alyssa Chang and passed the ball on to MG, who ran like the wind, deflecting all of the magical obstacles created by the opposite team and ended up opening the score.

 _"Go, MG!"_ Hope cheered, raising herself from the seat and placing her palms to the left and right end of her mouth, in order to be heard better.

When she returned to her seat clapping, she witnessed one disgusted Lizzie Saltzman looking back at her.

 _"What the hell do you think you're doing?"_ the siphon complained. _"He's the enemy."_

 _"He is our friend."_ Hope returned really confused by the girl's overreaction.

_"There are no friendships here, only 'team witches' and 'team vampires'."_

_"But I'm both."_ Hope shrugged.

 _"Yeah, yeah, yeah, overachiever and all,"_ Lizzie dismissed the tribrid's lame excuse regarding her nature _"but you have to choose."_

_"No, I don't."_

_"Yes, you do."_

_"Well, in that case, I'm team vamps."_ Hope shrugged provocatively.

 _"You haven't even activated your vampire side yet. You know you're one of us."_ Lizzie protested.

_" **You** said I could only pick one."_

_"Yeah, not that one."_ the blonde said exasperated but, after taking a deep breath, she continued calmer _"Tell me something. Did you choose them to stand up for the weak, like you so much find delightful to do, or just because of your unconquered need to cross me?"_

 _"Said the queen of conflicts."_ Hope returned sarcastic.

 _"I've been called worse. And you're dodging."_ Lizzie remarked, waiting for an answer.

_"Annoying you is a plus, sure. But they're not the weakest link, I bet on it."_

_"You bet on it."_ Lizzie repeated bemused.

_"Sure, if they lose you can ask for whatever you want. Same goes for me."_

_"Game on, Mikaelson."_

The two girls shook hands and got back to watching the game, for the first time really excited and passionate about this high-stakes competition.

The ball was in the air, heading to Josie's palms, when Jade hopped in before it could reach them, stealing it without a hint of remorse and running to the end of the line. Before she could score, the ginger vampire heard a scream of pain coming from her girlfriend's mouth and turned around to see the brunette laying on the field, hugging her knee. She immediately dropped the ball and vamp-sped to her. When Josie made sure the ball was out of Jade's sight, with a snap of her fingers she magically passed it on another witch, who in return made it to the finish line, settling the score. 

_"Oh, that was dirty."_ Jade spat out shocked, helping her girlfriend up.

 _"I might let you return the favor... tonight."_ Jo whispered in the vampire's ear and started jogging away like nothing happened, leaving the ginger out of breath.

 _"For once, that weird obsession the vamp-nurse has with my sister came in handy."_ Lizzie remarked from the stands, for the first time relatively pleased with her twin's relationship.

 _"Wow. Okay. I can see the resemblance now."_ Hope stated bemused.

 _"I know, right?"_ the blonde was overflowing with pride, seeing her sister pulling off the same tricks.

* * *

There were five minutes left of the game and the witches were ahead by two points. The giant sign on the left side of the field that was placed there to show the score, counted '21 - 23'. Soon, Kaleb made sure his team could have a chance at winning by getting even. '23 - 23'. Hope and Lizzie were committed to the game, the time for cheering and booing accordingly had passed. Everything depended on this round. Heavy silence soaked the place, as Jade thew the ball from the gap between her knees, right to MG's hands behind her. Josie blocked him and tried to steal the ball by throwing it away, but MG managed to regain control of it immediately. The vampire continued his way to the finish line and he was so close, when the ball faded until it disappeared completely from his palms. By the time he realized that it was a duplication spell, the real one was already in Josie's arm, who gloriously stuck it to the end zone, finishing the game once and for all.

 _"YEEEEEAH! FUCK, YEAH!"_ Lizzie celebrated at the top of her lungs, jumping on her feet. _"I won!"_

 _"Don't you mean the witches won?"_ Hope corrected her, even though she knew precisely what the siphon meant.

 _"Yeah, sure, whatever, the witches but **I** am victorious and I can have whatever I want!"_ the blonde explained, feeling on top of the world.

 _"And what's that?"_ Hope asked, suddenly feeling weird in her stomach, waiting for the answer.

 _"I don't know yet but I can have it!"_ Lizzie grinned from ear to ear.

Even though 'team vampires' had just lost the match and she'd lost the bet, seeing a so purely happy and care-free Lizzie filled the tribrid with joy and maybe for the first time, Hope gave the girl a heart-shaped glance, without a hint of guilt or second thoughts about the rest of the world.

_"Sure, you can."_

Hope's alluring tone forced Lizzie to look her right in the eyes and the wide smile of the winner faded into a subtle smirk. The shrill sound of the lightning hitting the center of the field distracted them but when Hope turned to look at the siphon again, she was gone.

 _"Lizzie?"_ Hope panicked.

Suddenly, the blonde reappeared in the middle of the court, right where the natural event had taken place. Hope felt relieved for a split second but when she observed Lizzie's face more closely, she knew something was wrong. Just in time, standing behind the terrified witch, the Necromancer revealed himself, raising from a purple cloud of dark magic.

 _"Good evening, Salvatore creatures. Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting anything important."_ the Necromancer pretended to be embarrassed of himself. _"Just kidding, I'm not concerned in the slightest."_ he said and gave the speechless crowd one of his infamous evil laughter.

Hope's eyes glowed from the anger, watching the Necromancer capturing her friend and then being sassy about it. She ran towards them, not having a particular plan but determined not to let anything happen to her. Between his laughs, the dark master saw the tribrid's attempt and with almost zero effort, his hand went through the siphon's back, where her heart was and smiled at the now horrified and frozen in position girl.

 _"Pardon me, where are my manners?"_ he said withdrawing his hand from Lizzie's chest, with her heart still intact in it but causing her to fall on her knees from the pain.

 _"I might have misjudged him."_ Lizzie turned to Hope wheezing as she hit the ground, holding her chest.

The sight was beyond devastating for the tribrid's eyes but she knew she couldn't afford doing something risky again. Not just yet. The Necromancer, on the other hand, couldn't be less bothered by the blonde's panting as he continued.

 _"The purpose of my visitation hasn't been clear to you. Allow me to change that."_ he said and took a few steps forward. _"You have got a particular object in your possession and I demand that you return it to me. You've got one hour or else.. May this little witch forever be remembered as the Necromancer's beloved subject. Or not be remembered at all."_

The sound of his otherwise annoying, uncontrollable laugh, made Hope and everyone else freeze. With a snap of his fingers he disappeared in the fog and with him, the last chance at saving Lizzie. Once they were gone, Hope's desperate look searched for Alaric, who was running towards the field, just having heard the bad news. When they locked eyes, the father of two stopped and stared back at her with the same desperation.

* * *

 _"Why are you doing this?"_ Lizzie panted, trying to put on a brave face but clearly shaken up that her heart almost got ripped out.

 _"Did the chest pain affect your hearing, dear? I just now explained my terms for your return."_ the Necromancer responded full of sarcasm as he closed the door to Lizzie's specially modified cell in the middle of his family grave slash evil lair.

 _"Why me? Whatever it is that you want, what makes you think they are going to give it to you for me? Last time I checked, I wasn't the most well-liked person in this school. Shocking, I know."_ Lizzie regained some of her strength and sass. _"You could have done better."_ she said dismissively but his arrogant laugh caught her off guard.

 _"And here I thought you are the smart twin. Your father is capable of despicable things -and that is saying something coming from me- in order to save his precious little girls. After all, I have him to thank for the magical reinforcement to the all-powerful master of the underworld I already was."_ he praised himself with his hands raised in a position that denoted strength.

_"And here I thought **I** was the narcissist."_

_"He did that to save his offspring, too."_ he continued, ignoring the siphon's snarky comment. _"Your sister. It was time I taught her a lesson for messing with **The** Necromancer, back when she was possessing my power. What better way to do it than to torture her own twin." _His evil smile, saying that last phrase, made the blonde gulp.

* * *

 _"How did this happen?"_ Alaric growled at the tribrid once they had the privacy of his office.

 _"It's my fault. I should've known better. He warned us he would be back and I j-"_ Hope's voice broke _"I let him take her."_ she apologized, covering her forehead with her palms.

 _"I'm sorry for yelling."_ He mimicked her, feeling bad for scolding the girl when she was clearly already extremely upset. _" I'm not mad at you, I'm mad at myself. I should have been there."_

 _"What does he want?"_ Hope turned to her headmaster, crying out for an answer. 

_"I don't know. But for Lizzie's sake, we better figure this out in the next twenty minutes."_

* * *

"And then there's the tribrid." The Necromancer continued his speech.

Lizzie's heart skipped several beats in the sound of her friend's name coming from him. A million terrible, heartbreaking thoughts bombed the siphon's head at once, yet she remained silent.

_"She let the Phoenix die because she was too busy saving **you**."_

_He remembers._ Lizzie realized in awe of his power.

 _"I chose you because **you** , deary, are my ticket to getting what I most of all desire. Revenge." _he whispered dreadfully. _"And just like that, I've killed two birds with one stone."_ he made a dramatic pause, as he got closer to the blonde's cell. _"Well.. three birds."_ He cried laughing, leaving the witch gasping in the realization.

_"I know what you want!"_

_* * *_

_"The golden arrow!"_ Hope remarked as the recognition dawned. _"I mean, think about it, The Necromancer must've known that Landon is in the pit, he knows that there's a chance he will be back and he wants to make sure if this happens, he has a way to kill him again."_

 _"Who's.. kill who again?"_ Ric asked confused.

 _"Oh, right. Um, it's a long story that we don't have time for. The point is, I know how to bring Lizzie back."_ claimed the tribrid.

_"So, what are we waiting for?"_

* * *

 _"Ten minutes left. Your friends better be fast."_ The dark lord stepped into the family grave again.

_"So, from what I'm gathering Hope's boyfriend made it out. Why else would you need the only thing that can kill him?"_

_"You **are** the smart twin."_ The Necromancer remarked joyous. _"But I don't think this is what you should be worried about right now."_

 _"Suck it up, dude, they will never hand this over to you."_ Lizzie said with certainty.

Suddenly, a piece of paper flew across the room, till it reached its destination, the Necromancer's hands. 

READY TO HAND IT OVER TO YOU. MEET ME AT THE DOCK. -ALARIC 

_"You were saying?"_ he returned sarcastically, turning the paper around for Lizzie to read it.

The blonde sighed and rolled her eyes.

 _"Pleasure going business with you. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a deadly artifact to collect."_ he said heading for the exit.

_"Wait, what about me? My father won't give you anything unless he knows I'm safe."_

_"Oh, he will. And when I hold it, this place will burn to the ground with you in it."_

_"Not cool, man."_ Lizzie shook her head. _"We had a deal."_

 _"And I'm breaking it. Isn't being the bad guy the best?"_ The Necromancer laughed. _"As I told you before, I need to punish your sister. It's truly unfortunate that you have to die for that to be accomplished. I must admit, little witch, you were growing on me."_

 _"Then how about you don't murder me?"_ Lizzie shouted mind blown.

 _"The plan remains as it is. Now, allow me, your father is waiting for your funeral. A real one, this time."_ He said smug and left the building.

The siphon stepped back from the bars and looked around in despair. That was it. No one would come for her. She had tried to change so much, to be more friendly, available, to let herself be vulnerable and connect with people, yet at the end there she was, right where she started, alone. Just in time, footsteps coming from outside distracted the girl, drawing her attention to the door.

 _"Just so you know, it's totally valid to change your mind about murdering me and no one will question your strength for it."_ Lizzie shouted at the person behind the door but her expression softened when she saw Hope stepping in.

 _"Lizzie, thank God, you're okay."_ the tribrid ran to the cell where her friend was being held hostage.

 _"Hope."_ Lizzie ran to the edge of her cell to meet the girl and grabbed the bars again. _"Wh- What are you doing here?"_

 _"Why do you think I'm here?"_ Hope sighed, attempting to bend the iron bars.

_"I don't know, gloat about the fact that you were right about the leader of The Walking Dead?"_

_"Even though I should.."_ Hope's voice softened as she stopped what she was doing to look into the blonde's eyes _"Right now I'm here to get you back."_


	10. Leave/Live

## Chapter 10 - Leave/Live

The Salvatore school was awfully quiet, the events at the soccer field had sounded the alarm for the students and everyone was in their room, waiting for further instructions. Everyone except Jo. She was at her dad's office, anxiously prowling around his desk, in desperate need of news concerning her sister. Suddenly, she heard a knock on the door and ran to open it, hoping for some developments. It was the first time she felt disappointed seeing Jade on the other side of it.

 _"Hey."_ Jade's tone denoted pure concern for the girl in front of her, who returned quickly to the office, waiting for the phone to ring or something. _"I was worried about you and I just wanted to make sure you're okay."_ she continued, ignoring the fact that Josie had completely dismissed her.

 _"Nothing about this is okay. My sister is captured by one of the most powerful beings to ever exist and God knows what he is going to do to her."_ the brunette yelled, misplacing her anger onto the girl.

 _"I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"_ Jade apologized. _"I just didn't want you to be alone right now, since your father is not here."_

 _"That's right. Everyone is out there, putting themselves in danger and I'm here doing nothing. I'm completely useless."_ the siphon broke down, not able to control her emotions.

 _"Hey, you're not useless. You're needed here. Someone had to stay behind. Don't worry, Hope and Dr. Saltzman got this, I'm sure everything will be fine."_ the vampire tried to console her.

 _"Don't worry? Are you listening to yourself? Lizzie could die at any moment if she's not already gone and you're here telling me to calm down? I don't want to calm down, I want my sister back."_ Jo returned furious.

 _"I-"_ Jade exhaled _"I'm just trying to be there for you."_

 _"And it's not helping. I guess you're just as useless."_ Josie spat out dead serious.

Heavy silence soaked the room as the ginger strived to process the words coming from the cold stranger across the desk.

 _"You're upset."_ she finally spoke with a steady, almost professional voice. _"Maybe I should come back later."_

_"Don't."_

Jade took a last glimpse of Josie's expressionless face, as she was clearly refusing to look back at the vampire, before the first left the office.

* * *

 _"I don't want to come off as needy but I would really appreciate if you could go a little faster."_ Lizzie suggested for a third time, as Hope was trying and inevitably failing to break her free.

 _"And I don't want to keep repeating myself by saying that this thing is impenetrable. Just give me a minute."_ the tribrid begged for some peace and quiet.

 _"That's what she said."_ she shrugged cheeky.

 _"Really?"_ Hope raised an eyebrow, unable to comprehend how the girl could crack this kind of jokes- or any joke at this point.

 _"Sorry. Force of habit."_ the blonde raised her shoulders again.

_"Well, I don't want to be the one to kill the mood-"_

_"You usually are."_

_"But I've tried everything I could think of."_ she continued, ignoring the comment. _"I've done five different spells, tried bending it, melting it, breaking it in half. Nothing worked. Have you tried siphoning it's magic?"_

_"Well, duh. I'm a siphoner. I siphon things."_

_"So, what's the problem with this one?"_

_"I don't know, do you think he wouldn't be prepared for that?"_ Lizzie's words were followed by a big pause that forced the girls to look into each other's eyes.

 _"I will find a way."_ Hope promised reaching for Lizzie's hand through the bars.

 _"I know you will."_ the blonde returned, slightly rubbing Hope's palm with her thumb, forcing the tribrid to look down for a second and make sure she wasn't just imagining it. _"I was just hoping it would be easy just this once."_

Hope didn't speak, instead, she gently pressed her fingers around Lizzie's hand to give her emotional strength and to make perfectly clear that they were in this together.

 _"Wait."_ Lizzie's tone suddenly became suspicious.

 _"What?"_ the tribrid tensed, afraid she might have overstepped.

_"I can't siphon you."_

_"You were trying to siphon me?"_ Hope pulled her arm back, trying to hide the feeling of betrayal, thinking they were having some sort of a moment there.

_"Well, yes and I can't, which means it's not just the cell i can't siphon. I've completely lost my magic."_

_"Maybe the cell is blocking your magic. And my magic to it."_

_"Only one way to find out. Cast a spell on something else."_ Lizzie suggested.

 _"Okay, let's see."_ Hope walked around in a place full of candles and chose the darkest one, bringing it back to where she was standing before. She shifted her hand above the source of light and chanted ' _Namia Exum Solvos_ ' trying to put it out but the flame was still flickering. _"Damn, you're right. It's not the cell. Something else is blocking both our powers."_

_"Just say it as it is. We're totally screwed."_

_"I wouldn't say totally."_

* * *

Alaric was in the dock, gazing across the lake to calm himself down while waiting for the trade. When he heard someone coming from the woods, he immediately felt that his daughter wasn't there.

 _"Where's Lizzie?"_ he said serious, without turning around to face the Necromancer standing six feet apart.

 _"Safe. For now."_ the impatience in his voice made the headmaster finally turn. _"Where is the arrow?"_

 _"Here."_ he said taking it out of his jacket. _"Just let my baby go. We don't want any trouble."_ he begged.

One moment the weapon was in Alaric's fist and the next The Nercomancer had his hands on it. Looking at him examining it, made the man sweat. The dark master laughed hard at his possession but when Ric believed their plan had somehow worked, the first broke it in half and tossed it into the lake furious.

 _"You, fools, thought I would fall for such a vacuous deception?"_ he remarked laughing. _"I was considering about sparing one of your children but now.. Now I'm going to take everything from you. Until you tremble in the sound of my name."_ he threatened and started walking away.

 _"No, wait!"_ he screamed frightened from the monster's announcement and revealed the real artifact. When he knew he had caught his attention, he continued calmer _"Hope said I cannot give it up but the truth is.. someone that I don't even remember is not as important as my own daughters. So, take it."_ he extended his arm towards him, holding the arrow.

The Necromancer summoned the arrow again and looked at it. His evil smile suggested that he'd once more won. 

_"I knew I could count on your undying desire to save your little girls, even when that means destroying lots of other people's lives."_ he remarked jolly and began his way to the cemetery.

_"You're going to let her go now, right? Does she know we met here? That she's free?"_

_"She is.. definitely feeling the change."_ the monster reassured the man craftily.

* * *

 _"Wait a minute."_ Hope ran to the counter full of candles and started blowing them out one by one.

 _"What are y- Aaaw, you're creating an atmosphere. I see you."_ Lizzie remarked cheeky.

 _"What? No. I think I know what's blocking our powers."_ Hope continued until every candle was blown out and then returned to her spot. _"This."_ she said holding the candle she previously tried to put out.

_"Care to elaborate?"_

_"I thought I recognized it earlier. It belonged to the school's library and it's supposed to absorb everyone's magic inside the room it is placed in. The Necromancer must have taken it when he stole all those objects from the school to find the arrow the first time."_ Hope explained.

_"Then what are you waiting for? Blow it out."_

_"I can't. Only the person who lighted it up can, in this case the one that will rip us apart once he figures out our plan."_

_"Yeah, because he needed a reason to kill me."_ Lizzie spat out dismayed.

 _"Hey, we still have time to come up with something."_ the tribrid tried to comfort her.

Before the sentence was over, the ground began to quake underneath them, causing some fragments to fall off from the walls.

_"You sure about that?"_

_"What happened?"_ Hope asked concerned.

 _"I think the Necromancer finally got what he wanted."_ Lizzie returned calm.

 _"That's impossible. I made Dr. Saltzman a fake arrow for him to trade just to buy me time to rescue you. I kept the real one safe at the school."_ the shorter girl explained not-so-calm.

 _"No, you didn't. My dad gave it away. And this place is gonna burn to the ground in the next few seconds, with me in it."_ Lizzie explained, having accepted her fate.

 _"Well, I don't accept that."_ the tribrid declared and desperately tried to break the cell again.

 _"Stop. This isn't working, you need to stop."_ Lizzie raised her voice trying to talk some sense into her but the girl continued struggling to get her out while the building around them was collapsing. _**"Hope, listen to me!"**_ she yelled bringing her back to reality and immobilized the two hands attached to the bars. _"You have to get the hell out of here."_

 _"You listen to me. I'm not going anywhere without you, so, shut up and help me bend this thing."_ Hope released her hands from the blonde's and continued her job.

Very soon the room was on fire, starting from a curtain and quickly spreading all around them.

_"You can't save me. Not this time. But you can save Landon. And he needs you."_

_"I don't even know if he's ever coming back, you're here right now and I'm not leaving you."_ she returned restless, never taking her eyes off of Lizzie.

 _"Yes, you do. Landon is alive."_ Lizzie reassured her.

 _"What?_ " Hope spat out bemused. _"No, you're lying to make me go."_

 _"I'm telling the truth, the Necromancer told me in his own way that he has escaped and that's why he needs the arrow so bad. He's going to kill him again and you have to stop it."_ she explained coughing from the amount of smoke in the air. Hope took a second to process this.

_"We will. Once we're both out safely."_

_"Why are you like this? What more do I have to say? I don't want you here!"_

_"I don't care."_

_"You're so --cough-- infuriating"_ Lizzie declared angry and then it hit her. _"But you **have to**. That's my wish."_

 _"No. Nuh-uh. No way. Absolutely not."_ Hope exclaimed in denial realizing she was talking about the bet.

 _"You said whatever I want. I want you to leave."_ Lizzie spat out dead serious but then her voice softened. _"I want you to live."_

 _"You can't do this to me."_ Hope begged.

 _"Look at me."_ Lizzie took Hope's face in her hands and lifted it slightly, forcing her to look into her eyes. _"Not so long ago, I promised you I would help you get Landon back. And you promised that you wouldn't die. Don't make us both liars."_ the siphon begged one last time, wiping a tear away from Hope's cheek with her thumb.

The tribrid closed her eyes, dealing with a huge fight inside her head and took a deep breath, trying to keep the blonde's smell forever etched in her mind. It was Lizzie's turn to close her eyes while Hope held her wrists, slowly detaching them from her sopping face. When she opened them again, the girl was gone and the tears she was holding in all this time for her friend's sake, finally ran down her face like a stream of liquid water, making her eyes burn.

She pressed her lips into a sad smile, thankful that at least Hope would be okay but then she started coughing uncontrollably. The smoke was suffocating the room and the girl's lungs were getting more damaged by the minute. She tried to cover her mouth and nose with her elbow but the product of the burning consumed almost every bit of oxygen in the grave, making it impossible for her to breath. Her senses kept fading more and more until she couldn't keep her eyes open any longer.

And everything went dark.

* * *

Blur. The room's ceiling was spinning and the lights were too bright to look at directly. But nothing was burning. There wasn't any fire. The earth wasn't shaking. She wasn't in danger anymore.

Lizzie blinked a couple of times until she realized she was in her room. In her bed. She tried to lift herself a little bit, leaving a weak groan of pain in the process. _Yep, that happened._ It wasn't some nightmare she'd just woken up from. The sound roused the tribrid, who had just closed her eyes in a chair next to the bed. She didn't have to think twice to get up and check on her friend.

 _"Hey, you."_ she used her softest voice to welcome the siphon back.

 _"Hope?"_ Lizzie formed a weak smile, forgetting everything for a second. _"Wait, how did I.. Why are you.. Is this?"_ she spoke low trying to make sense of this, until her eyes popped out of her head _" **A**_ **m I dead?** _"_ she asked suspiciously.

 _"Despite all your efforts, you're pretty much alive."_ Hope was too thankful that the girl was awoken to sound as petty as she had originally planned.

_"You sure I'm not dead? Where's Josie and my dad?"_

_"You just missed them. I practically had to kick them out to get them to go and get some sleep. For a person who's **not** dead, you were passed out for quite some time. Although, it's good to know that Heaven looks like this in your head." _Hope joked to lighten up the atmosphere, throwing back a strand of her hair.

 _"Yeah, Heaven, that's what I thought it was.."_ Lizzie returned the joke and tried to raise herself some more.

 _"Hey, easy, you're still hurt."_ Hope said helping her up. _"How are you feeling?"_

 _"Like an ancient puppeteer of zombies with an infinite amount of dark magic just locked me up in a stinky anti-magic dungeon for the sole purpose of killing me by putting the entire building on fire until it literally falls on me. Oh, wait."_ she remarked, ironic to the bone.

_"Well, at least we know your memory's still intact. And your sarcasm."_

Lizzie thought about what she'd just spat out. _"How am I not dead again?"_

 _"So, uhm.. remember when I left?"_ the tribrid scratched her neck full of guilt for that time.

 _Vividly._ That's how well Lizzie remembered the moment she opened her eyes and Hope was gone but she settled with an uneasy nod to answer the girl's question.

_"I took the candle with me and gave it to Josie, who reactivated her powers in order to be able to siphon it and then Jade vamp-sped us to the grave. With the spell broken, I could put out the fire and break the cell that, by the way, was also disarming you from your powers. You were unconscious all the way back, till now."_

_"You came back?"_ Lizzie asked bewildered, that being the only part of what Hope had just said that she cared about.

 _"I- I know I wasn't supposed to"_ the tribrid anxiously tried to explain herself _"And I know it was your wish but I just, I couldn't-"_

Lizzie's hug came so breathlessly, it almost caused Hope's heart to stop. Once the second realized what was happening, her features relaxed and her arms embraced the siphon, returning the meaningful gesture.

 _"Thank you."_ the blonde spoke sincerely with her eyes closed, truly relieved that she didn't have to pretend she wasn't absolutely terrified of dying anymore.

 _"Sure."_ Hope returned with a smile that Lizzie could feel, even though hidden behind her shoulder, refusing to let go of the witch.

_"But let's not do that ever again, shall we?"_

_"I don't know, you seem to be getting in trouble a lot lately."_ Hope finally parted from the blonde to face her.

_"Me? Oh, please, we both know you wouldn't last a week without me saving your ass."_

_"And that is the only reason **I** saved your ass." _the Mikaelson witch manifested, raising her shoulders and eyebrows at once.

 _"So, keep saving each other's asses, then?"_ Lizzie suggested unusually tender.

 _"Sounds good."_ Hope agreed with a smirk.

After some moments of silence, the tribrid extended her hand towards the girl's, without ever finding the strength to actually touch it, only managing to land it at the edge of the bed, just next to hers. Lizzie stared at it for a few seconds and then dragged her eyes all the way up to meet Hope's.

 _"So.. What about Landon?"_ Lizzie asked as she noticed, much to her regret, the light extinguishing from her friend's eyes.

 _"He.."_ Hope looked down as she took a deep breath to regain some strength. _"He's gone."_

_"What? How? But the-"_

_"I went back to the pit. When you were here safe. I went back. I thought I'd find something, anything that could give me a sign about where he is. Instead, I found the Necromancer."_ Hope began to explain while Lizzie was listening without a breath. _"He said it was done."_ she spat out heartbroken.

The blonde looked at the girl speechless, expecting to hear more. Once she realized she wasn't going to get anything else, she returned _"Well, he could be lying, there's still a chance Lan-"_

 _"Just forget it, okay?"_ Hope's voice was more aggressive than she would ever want to use on Lizzie. _"It's over."_ she continued much softer.

 _"Okay."_ the siphon decided not to fight, seeing how upsetting this was to the shorter girl and honestly, just thankful they were both there, alive.

Before Hope could say anything, the door opened, and the rest of the blonde's family barged in, in a great hurry to welcome her back.

 _"Lizzie."_ Josie let a breath she was holding all day, finally come out.

 _"Hey, baby."_ Alaric gave her daughter a worried yet warm smile.

Hope immediately jumped on her feet to make space for the family to reunite.

 _"Jo, daddy. I'm so glad to see you, both."_ Lizzie gasped, standing on her feet to welcome them.

The three of them embraced cordially, with the once more wounded witch in the center of this endearing gesture. Hope stood there for a second, watching this tender moment that filled her with delight, yet she couldn't help but feel nostalgic, knowing she would never be able to recreate that unmatched feeling of wholesomeness only a family hug can give. She turned around to leave father and daughters to it, when Lizzie's hand reached her relentlessly, pulling her into that magical moment. Alaric and Josie welcomed her without a question and the four of them almost suffocated from a hug so tight, that could actually be able to put some of their pieces back together.


	11. Three days

## Chapter 11 - Three days

_"Come on, we need to hurry."_ Jade yelled outside of the well-known family grave.

 _"We're here, let's go."_ Hope declared as she came out of the shattered building, carrying the unconscious siphon in her arms.

The two girls were about to begin their way back when the Necromancer ruined their plans once more, appearing in front of them from a cloud of dark smoke.

 _"You, dear witch, are becoming more and more predictable every time we meet."_ he remarked, as the tribrid laid her friend on the ground to be ready to fight if needed. _"I don't even have to chase you no more, I take one and the entire school comes to the rescue."_

 _"You got what you wanted, just let us go."_ Hope asked politely, considering the hate she had for that man. 

_"Did I? Because at the beginning of this day, I had planned on murdering **two** filthy creatures. But alright. Maybe I could make a little compromise for my favorite tribrid. I'm willing to let you keep only one of your beloved pets. I'll even allow you to make the choice." _he claimed too pleased with himself and the position he'd just put the girl in _. "So, young sorceress, who's it gonna be?"_

 _"You're sick."_ Hope couldn't believe she had to do this again.

 _"I'll give you a moment. This is a big decision, after all. How about thirty seconds?"_ if there was something the Necromancer enjoyed more than power was emotionally torturing people. 

_"I- uh.. I can't. I won't."_ she declared determined.

 _"Very well, I will do it for you, then. This one is available."_ he said approaching towards the unconscious girl.

 _"No!"_ Hope jumped in front of Lizzie's lying body without giving a second thought to it.

 _"Huh. You decided, after all. See, that wasn't so hard."_ The Necromancer laughed uncontrollably, truly enjoying himself. _"Now, if you'll excuse me, there is a certain bird that needs to be taken care of. You're free to go, Miss Mikaelson. This time."_

And with that, he was gone.

Hope stared at the void his disappearance had created, completely lost, until tears started to stream down her cheeks. She couldn't react, think, move. She couldn't breathe. 

_"I'm so sorry"_ the vampire said honestly, bringing the girl back to reality.

 _"Let's just go."_ Hope returned detached, pulling herself together and wiping her tears before she got up and lifted Lizzie in her arms again.

* * *

The tribrid woke up in a cold sweat.

The event had taken place three days ago, yet the nightmares didn't seem to leave Hope's mind. Just when she was making progress, the guilt came back stronger than ever, consuming her, destroying everything she'd strived for. She hadn't left her room since the night she made sure the siphon was okay. She couldn't deal with the world. With _her._ Hope had to make a choice again, and she'd chosen everyone but Landon. Again. Only this time, it wasn't down to him or the entire school, or even a family. It was him or her. And that made it that much worse.

Of course, it wasn't Lizzie's fault, she didn't even know what had really happened, only what the tribrid herself had explained to her that very night. She shouldn't have to carry the burden of Landon's death, Hope decided, so, skipped the part where she doomed her boyfriend's life to save her. That was something only she deserved to be haunted by. Yet every time Lizzie had tried to contact her, she would avoid her. She knew it wasn't fair to her, she knew it, but the sight of the blonde was a constant reminder of her own failure and she couldn't take any more of this right now.

Hope got out of her bed to hit the bathroom but paused as she stood in front of the mirror. She looked disgusting. She hadn't taken a shower or eaten, or brushed her hair in three days and the black circles below her eyes completed the repulsive image of the girl in front of her.

 _"No!"_ she said out loud, lecturing her own reflection. _"You're better than this. You must."_

Once her short monologue was finished, she grabbed some clean clothes and a towel and headed to the showers.

* * *

Jade was outside the classroom, spending her break with the company of Jed, MG and Kaleb. Slowly but steady, she'd started making friends again and for the first time in so long, she felt like she belonged. Everything in her life was finally coming together, her education, her self-control. Everything except-

 _"Hey."_ Josie's voice punched through the ginger's ears, bringing her back to reality.

 _"Hey, Jo."_ MG greeted.

 _"Wass good?"_ Kaleb followed.

But Jade settled for a slight nod to welcome the brunette. 

_"Hi, guys."_ she returned, her eyes fixed on the girl. _"Uhm.. can I talk to you for a moment?"_ she asked innocent, knowing damn well how pissed her girlfriend must've been and reasonably so.

Jade nodded again and turned to the males of the group. _"Later."_ she smiled as convincingly as she could and started walking towards her room, knowing Josie was following.

 _"So?"_ she said distanced, already standing across the room when the siphon closed the door.

 _"Uh.. how are you?"_ Josie decided to begin with a small talk but also was truly interested to hear the answer.

 _"Splendid."_ Jade returned cold.

_"Look, I-"_

_"Did you want something else? Cause I have to get back."_ she cut her off.

 _"I.. "_ she forgot what she wanted to say. She had never seen her so mad. And she had every right to be. Josie was awful to her. Maybe it was time she accepted she had ruined the only good thing in her life in so long. _"No. I'm sorry."_ her voice came out low, almost like a whisper. She turned around to open the door when-

 _"Glad your sister is okay."_ Jade spat out quickly in an effort to keep her from leaving, yet she remained stoic.

Josie's mouth formed a weak smile before she faced her again. She took a deep breath and started _"I know I was awful, you had the best of intentions checking in on me and I treated you badly and you didn't deserve that."_ She was getting closer and closer to the vampire as she continued. _"I know how much my sister affects me but that's no excuse for how I talked to you and I'm truly sorry. You are amazing. I mean, even when I was so horrible, you still helped save Lizzie."_ Josie's tears were struggling not to escape her eyes.

 _"Pff, that wasn't for you. I just really enjoy having her grumpy mood all over my face every day."_ Jade claimed in a successful attempt to lighten up the atmosphere and take a glimpse of Josie's irresistible wet chuckle. Oh, how she'd missed that smile.

 _"I'm sure you do."_ the brunette joked but immediately got serious again. _"But if there's any chance you did it because even if I'm the biggest idiot alive, a part of you still cares about us.."_

 _"You can't talk to me like that. Ever."_ Jade manifested.

 _"I know. I won't."_ Jo promised. _"I'll go against my whole nature and for once I'll stop being that self-destructive, for once I will not push away the one person I need by my side, I'll change my entire worldview if needed but I can't lose you, because I'm in love with you, Jade, I-"_

Her last words left both of them speechless. The ginger looked at her shocked, trying to decode Jo's thoughts at that moment.

 _"I'm in love with you."_ she repeated certain, answering Jade's unspoken question.

Their faces were so close they could feel the warmth of one another, when Lizzie barged in furious.

 _"Where the hell have you been, I'm looking for you all over the school."_ she spat out causing the girls to jump. 

_"Ever heard of knocking?"_ Jade was pissed, that was strike two.

_"Yeah, I don't do that, and I'm actually talking to my sister, so.."_

_"Don't talk to her like that."_ Josie flared up. _"I know you don't like each other but I also don't really care. Jade is my girlfriend and you better deal with it soon."_ she said frustrated, but the vampire's fingers entangling in hers calmed her down at once. _"Now, how can I help you?"_

 _"Okay, Josette, jeez. Dad needs you at his office."_ the blonde said apathetic.

Jo squeezed the ginger's hand and smiled at her, before leaving the room.

Jade folded her arms waiting for the other twin to clear off.

Lizzie looked askance at her and turned around heading for the exit but then she stopped. She took a deep breath while rolling her eyes and turned back to face her. _"Look, I know what you did."_ she finally spat out. _"Thanks. Whatever."_

Jade stared at the girl as if an alien had just dropped from the sky. _"You are.. welcome?"_

 _"Oh, c'mon, are you really that surprised?_ " Lizzie protested.

 _"Not really used to.. whatever this is."_ she said pointing her finger towards the siphon and moving it in a circle.

_"Well, it might be the concussion talking but I've decided I'm gonna be nice today, see what happens."_

_"Oh, was that you being nice earlier?"_

_"I'm only starting now, shut up."_ claimed the blonde.

 _"Whatever. I, for one, would still choose Jose over you every single time."_ Jade could still not comprehend how Hope could sacrifice her boyfriend for someone like Lizzie.

_"What's that supposed to mean?"_

_"Nothing. I didn't say.. I gotta go to class!"_ the vamp tried to fix her own mess.

 _"Not another step!"_ the blonde threatened. _"What is going on? What was a choice?"_

_"You don't scare me."_

_"In the last three days I've been held captive by the mother of all Zombies, almost died, returned to find out my father, sister and best friend risked their lives to save me and somehow succeeded without a single repercussion and now_ _Hope's MIA and she doesn't return any of my texts and I don't know if I did something wrong or if she's just sick of having to save me and I'm pretty sure I'm on the verge of an episode and I don't think I can handle it right now so, please, tell me what happened?"_ Lizzie was somehow paralyzed and shaking at the same time.

 _"Why don't you sit?"_ Jade offered shutting the door.

* * *

The steaming bathtub would normally be suffocating, yet in this case it felt freeing in a way. Like Hope could wash down her sins. She'd let hot water running down her body for hours and she couldn't care less. This felt good. Nothing had felt good in a while.

Eventually, she returned to her bedroom and glanced at the mirror again. Much better. She took the towel off of her head, releasing her thickly, dampened hair. Whoa, was that her stomach protesting? She needed food. At least she'd found her appetite. That must have been an improvement, right? She couldn't go all the way to the kitchen, so she decided to check her phone instead, maybe that would help keep her mind off of things. Plus, she hadn't touched it in three days and she had no idea what was going on in the outside world. (7) Unread Messages. Whoa, she really didn't think anybody would even notice her absence. She opened them.

[Lizzie] Wanna skip class today? Feeling better already. :)

 _Oh, Lizzie._ Hope felt a stab of guilt. For not responding, leaving her alone after what happened to her, not being able to face her. All of it.

[Dr. Saltzman] Good morning, Hope. I noticed you skipped class today. That's okay, you deserve some time off, considering that you have been through the past days. I will be here if you need someone to talk to. -Alaric

The fact that Ric was still signing his texts as if she couldn't see his name on her phone made Hope smile. That was two days ago. Seems like Dr. Saltzman had been very understanding, if only he wasn't the reason the Necromancer got his hands on the arrow in the first place. But he did it to save Lizzie and Hope was the first person that could understand that. She'd done the same, after all. She had no right to be mad at him. She opened another message.

[Lizzie] Looks like you skipped anyway. Dad says I have to stay in bed all day. And Josie has classes till afternoon. I'm sooooo freaking boooooooooooreeeeeeeeedd. Any chance you wanna come over so we can be bored together?

The second day of silence got the blonde a little worried and the more recent the text, the harder was for Hope to read.

[Lizzie] Uhm, I know technology is not your cup of tea. Or communication. Yet here I am, letting you know I'm alive and well. Wanna try it sometime?

[Lizzie] Another day of ignoring me and still here, coz that is the kind of friend I am.

[Josie] Don't know what happened but Lizzie's kinda freaking out. Text her back, please?

[Lizzie] For real, Hope. If you do not want to talk to me it's fine, I guess. Just tell me you're fucking okay.

 _Oh, God, what have I done?_ That last text was sent this morning and Hope was losing it. How could she be that ignorant? Lizzie just wanted a friend after everything they went through and she had completely shut her out. She had to find her and humbly apologize. Did she really think Lizzie wouldn't notice? The fact that she did filled the tribrid with a strange, overwhelming yet heart-warming feeling. The siphon had become a significant part of Hope's life and the realization that she cared just as much was comforting. It made her feel loved.

She was done avoiding her. Avoiding _it._

The tribrid ran to the door ready to face Lizzie, but she didn't expect she would literally face her once she opened it. The blonde was standing expressionless on the other side of it, her eyes fixed on Hope's. What was she going to do? Yell at her? Cry? Punch her in the face? No one could tell. Especially not Hope.

 _"Look, I know you're probably extremely pissed at me right now."_ she decided to start her speech before Lizzie passed out, because from the look of it, she wouldn't last long. _"But I swear, I didn't mean to-"_

Lizzie wrapped her arms around Hope, pulling her into a hug so tight she could feel her intestines moving but she fucking adored it. No place in the world felt safer than Lizzie's arms. And that scent, how she'd missed that scent. Inconceivably mesmerizing.

 _"Oh, God, I thought you were gonna punch me or something."_ Hope relaxed in her friend's arms returning the gesture.

 _"Oh, I was. I certainly was about to punch you."_ Lizzie remarked getting back to her previous spot. _"But then I.. reconsidered."_

_"I'm so sorry I ghosted you."_

_"What? I'm not mad about that. I mean, of course I am, don't you ever do that again."_ she dictated heading towards the center of the room. _"But mostly I'm mad that you hid the truth from me."_

 _"What truth?"_ Hope shrugged nervous as she followed.

_"Come one, Hope. I know what you had to do to take me home."_

_"Oh.."_ she looked down. _"I just didn't want you to believe it was your fault."_ she finally admitted.

 _"That's ridiculous! Why would I ever think it's my fault? It so clearly isn't!"_ Lizzie spat out surprising the tribrid. 

_"Oh, okay. Glad you see it that way."_

_"And it's not yours either. There's only one person to blame for all of this and you know who it is."_

_"It is, though. **I** made the choice."_

_"No, you didn't! Do you really believe he would let you save the one person he strived to kill from the very start? Even if you had chosen differently, there wasn't a good ending for him. The Necromancer just wanted to torture you, making you think Landon stood a chance to begin with. And he briefly succeeded, because once again you decided to go through this alone and drown in your own guilt."_ Lizzie lectured the girl. _"And that's what I'm mostly mad about. That you can't seem to comprehend the fact there are people in your life that care about you, who are genuinely trying to help you even if they had previously tried to erase you from existence once or twice."_

_"What?"_

_"The point is, you can't keep doing this._ _Shut down and ignore the rest of the world. And believe me, I would have made your life a living hell for what you pulled on me these past days if I didn't know for a fact that it almost ate you alive."_

_"You're right. I feel guilty."_ Hope finally accepted her own emotions.

_"No, shit. That's what I've been saying, weren't you paying attention?"_

_"But not because I think my actions killed Landon. I know he was long gone. I feel guilty that I've chosen you over and over again, with Kai, in front of the Necromancer, in my mind, in my heart and I don't regret it for a single second. I'm ashamed that when I'm supposed to be sad, I see you and I talk to you and I touch you and it feels so damn good. I stayed away from everyone because I needed to stay away from you. Because I needed some time to grieve and I'm sorry but I can't when you're around."_

_"I.."_ Lizzie lost her voice.

Hope knew she shouldn't have opened her damn mouth but her emotions were all over the place now, so..

 _"I think.."_ the blonde tried to speak _"No, I know."_ she corrected. _"I can make your life pretty miserable."_

Hope smiled. _"Not possible."_

 _"No, seriously, whenever I see you being even a bit happier than your usual, I am going to make sure you feel the pain you deserve to be feeling."_ Lizzie reassured the shorter girl, truly terrified of an alternative where their ways would be separated.

 _"I'm so desperately in love with you."_ Hope confessed, two heart-eyes looking into a pair of astonished.

 _"Well-"_ the blonde pulled herself together, even if she was melting inside, to take a serious expression. _"I am so not in love with you."_ she tried to convince Hope but the look on their faces were too direct to fake.

They needed each other. Three days apart and you could cut the tension with a knife. Their bodies were so close to touching but never actually did, making the anticipation that much more intense. Every other second Hope would look down at the girl's lips, gulp dryly and return right back where she started. And if her heart could stop beating that fast for a freaking second, she would surely have been able to hear Lizzie's, pounding just as loud inside her chest.

 _"So not in love."_ Lizzie whispered seconds before her lips crashed into Hope's mouth, giving them both what they wanted, slightly opening it up before she slid her tongue across the girl's bottom lip. At the same time, her palms gently grabbed the shorter girl's face, resting her fingers under each ear while her thumbs explored her jawline. The tribrid drew a deep, staggered breath in response to the wave of heat she felt flushing through her and rested her hands on the blonde's waist, pulling it against her abdomen. The contact made Lizzie's inside flutter, granting Hope's tender tongue full permission to dip past the siphon's lips as she left a soft moan, music to the shorter girl's ears.

They parted for a brief moment just to check in on one another but as soon as they confirmed that this was actually happening and both of them were all in, they shared a look full of longing and passionately became one yet again.


	12. Danderous games

Chapter 12 - Dangerous games

Lizzie hadn't slept that well in ages. Correction. Lizzie had never slept that well. Her skin was glowing, her wounds weren't hurting anymore and she was ready for the first period. Her excitement for education was reinforced by the fact that _she_ would be there. She couldn't stop replaying the previous night in her head, craving for more of Hope's touch. Who knew? All this time they were fighting and hated each other, who knew her lips would be so soft against hers, and her tongue so amazingly smooth and unexpectedly skilled and.. Oh, God, was she blushing? Had just the thought of her made Lizzie blush? _That's not good._ Everything was still so new to the girl, yet so exciting and she couldn't wait to experience all of it.

The siphon entered the kitchen for a quick snack and -of course- coffee, before her first class. When she walked in, Josie, Jade, MG and Kaleb were talking and laughing over something the latter had said, while having some breakfast. Her footsteps caught everyone's attention and four pairs of eyes turned to stare at her heading to the coffee maker.

 _"Morning?"_ Lizzie said baffled that her presence caused such bemusement.

Her classmates waved hello to her without starting a conversation -they could tell she wasn't in a mood for chitchat and she hadn't even had a sip of coffee yet- and got back to their meal. Normally she would have loved the attention but right now she just wanted to-

 _"Hey."_ Lizzie tensed in the sound of Hope's voice entering the room and greeting everyone at the table before she noticed the familiar back in front of the coffee machine.

Everyone started talking to Hope, as she seemed more willing to communicate than the last person who walked in. She politely listened and even nodded now and then but her eyes were often sliding towards the girl standing alone a few meters away. Lizzie, on the other side, unapologetically outstared her, while enjoying her steaming beverage. Hope could feel her skin burn and her mouth dry under the blonde's eyes.

 _"Uh, excuse me, I'm gonna go make some coffee, be right back."_ she excused herself and headed to the machine.

Lizzie was leaning on the counter, in front of the upper cupboard with the mugs, hands and legs crossed. Hope found the perfect pretext to get back at her for making her sweat in front of their friends. She casually walked up to her and stopped right before their hips could touch. She leered at her full of anticipation, slowly separating the girl's legs with her knee and when Lizzie gawked, she raised her hand and opened the cabinet next to the girl's ear, reaching for the furthest mug, just as an excuse to bring her face as close to hers as possible.

 _"I'm sorry, am I bothering you?"_ Hope had the nerve to ask, seeing Lizzie panting.

As the siphon opened her mouth to say something, Hope pulled back and walked to the cafetiere, pouring some fresh coffee as if nothing had happened.

 _Oh, is this how you wanna play?_ She looked at the tribrid bemused. That new side of Hope did _things_ to Lizzie's body. She returned to the table and resumed her conversation with the rest of the squad but not before she gave the blonde a sensational look over her cup, as she took a big sip.

* * *

The class let out quickly. Most of it, Lizzie had spent gazing at Hope's beautiful back, sitting on the desk diagonally behind her. The shorter girl would scope the class every once in a while, just to check in on her and she would struggle to hide her smile every time she'd caught her staring.

 _"Miss Saltzman."_ Dorian requested as Lizzie was about to exit the room like the rest of the students.

 _"Yes?"_ she said returning to the front desk.

_"Are you okay?"_

_"Uh.. sure?"_

_"I noticed you were.. distracted during the entire lecture."_ the teacher said worried. _"You know you can talk to me if something is bothering you, right? I know these past weeks were really stressful for you and I just want to make sure you're getting the help you need."_

 _"I'm okay, Mr. Williams. It won't happen again."_ Lizzie couldn't exactly say that she wasn't deranged, just a normal lovestruck teenager.

 _"Okay."_ he nodded, deciding it was better not to push. _"You're dismissed."_

* * *

Hope was in the locker room, changing for the next period, P.E. With her, a bunch of other girls were getting ready. She lifted her right foot on the bench she was sitting, to tie her shoelaces, when she noticed two legs pausing right in front of her. She glanced up to see Alyssa Chang standing with her arms crossed and she seemed pissed.

 _"Can I help you?"_ Hope said really calm, continuing her task unbothered.

 _"The fact that I let you keep your room doesn't mean I'm gonna let you have my position as QB1, so, do not get any ideas."_ the witch threatened.

 _"Wow, okay, nice to see you, too."_ Hope exclaimed surprised, but not really.

_"Don't play innocent, I can see right through you. And I'm telling you, the spot is mine."_

_"Scram, Alyssa."_ Lizzie interrupted, getting their attention as she stepped in. _"If you want to be QB1 then fucking prove you're worthy of it in the field and stop bitching around."_ she declared making the witch seethe and Hope tried to hold back a giggle. _"Besides. You're barking up the wrong tree, if someone is to take that position, it's me."_

 _"We'll see about that."_ she returned furious and cleared off.

The two girls shared a _look_ but when Hope seemed like she was gonna say something, Lizzie walked up to her locker, took a pile of clean clothes from it and got lost in the hallway. Hope smiled shaking her head, knowing damn well this was payback for this morning.

She got ready and entered the restrooms, in order to fix her ponytail in front of the gigantic mirror above the sinks. Two other girls were also there, gossiping somewhere in the corner, but Hope didn't pay any attention to them. Suddenly, Lizzie came out of one of the toilets and used the sink next to hers to wash her hands, looking at her own reflection the entire time. Hope gave her a discreet glimpse through the mirror and resumed her task. The two chatty girls in the back decided to use the toilets, leaving them alone in the washing space of the bathroom. Lizzie headed towards the exit but suddenly stopped behind the tribrid, who was still trying to tame her hair, placing her hands to the shorter girl's hips and looked at her through the glass.

"Wha-" Hope exclaimed, almost choking on her drools but Lizzie raised her index finger above her own mouth, suggesting she should stop talking.

The tribrid stood completely still, observing as the blonde's nose tickled the back of her ear. When she felt the girl shudder under her touch, Lizzie started leaving a trail of small kisses across her neck. Hope slowly put her hands down, tilted her head to give her space and closed her eyes, losing every bit of self-control when the siphon's tongue slid against her skin, slightly sucking it in a way that made the girl moan. As luck would have it, the flush exceeded the sound, reminding them they were not alone. Hope twitched.

 _"I'm sorry, am I bothering you?"_ Lizzie whispered in her ear with the cheekiest smile.

Hope turned around to face the siphon when they heard the sound of the door unlocking. Before any of them could get opened, she grabbed the blonde's hand and led her outside all the way to the janitor's closet. 

Once she locked the door behind them, Hope pushed the girl to the wall and pressed her body against hers, releasing all the ferocity of the day onto Lizzie's welcoming lips. Their kiss was passionate, yet gentle. Hope's delicate movements inside the girl's mouth drove the latter crazy, waking up a side she didn't know she had in her. She responded by grabbing her waist and leading her across the tiny room, without ever breaking contact, only stopping when the tribrid's back was the one against the wall. 

_"Hey."_ Lizzie said gruffly from the rush, remembering they never actually greeted each other.

 _"Hi."_ Hope returned in the same tone but with a smile forming on her lips while she was struggling to catch her breath.

 _"That was something you pulled on me at the kitchen this morning."_ the blonde teased her.

 _"You're the one to talk, playing me like that in there."_ she responded in the same mood.

_"In retaliation for your poking."_

_"Maybe I should poke more often, then."_ Hope said flirty.

_"Keep this up and it's a matter of time before they send me to a nuthouse."_

_"What?" the tribrid spat out startled._

_"Oh, yeah, Dorian thinks I'm on a brink of a meltdown cause I wasn't paying any attention to the class, couldn't exactly say I was just too distracted by your fine back to listen to useless first-grader's spells."_

_"We had history."_

_"See?"_ Lizzie shrugged.

Hope couldn't hold back her laugh any longer. The chuckle soon evolved to a nervous laughter so strong, she had to hold her belly from the pain in her abdominals. Lizzie gawked at her astonished.

 _"Oh, is this amusing to you?"_ she asked both shocked and offended but the girl couldn't stop. _"I think that's enough. Hope! Stop! It isn't funny!"_ she complained but the girl's laugh was uncontrollable.

 _"It's a little funny."_ she managed to say between her giggles.

 _"Oh, yeah? Do you know what else is funny?"_ Lizzie said and attacked the girl, tickling her as hard as she could.

Hope howled and twitched and then twitched again, trying to avoid the girl's tease. " _No, no, no. Lizzie! Stop it! Noo!"_ she screamed laughing.

 _"What's the matter? Not so funny now? I'm having fun."_ she continued attacking her belly from behind.

The shorter girl turned around to face her and their mouths almost collided, making them both forget what they were laughing about. Suddenly, Hope's lips found Lizzie once more, this time more possessively, she needed to be hers. She raised her hands aiming for Lizzie's chest when she found herself pinned against the wall, the blonde's hands tangled in hers, containing them right above her head. Lizzie broke the contact to look at her, make sure it was okay. Hope's pleased expression suggested she could continue, so she did, burying her head in the girl's neck. The feeling of the siphon's lips against her skin was unmatched and the sounds of pleasure she made, combined with a lift of her head, lent to Lizzie a devious smirk. 

_"W-we have to get back."_ she panted while the taller girl was still working on her neck.

 _"Not enjoying this?"_ she asked between her kisses.

 _"That- that's not it."_ Hope was more than enjoying it. _"They're gonna be looking for us."_

 _"Nobody will notice we're gone."_ Lizzie gently let go of the tribrid.

 _"I don't know. You would be the first person I would notice if were missing."_ Hope answered honestly.

 _"Well, everyone's. But right now I don't feel like sweating. From sports that is."_ she said, her eyes stuck on the girl's lips.

_"You're doing it again."_

_"Doing what?"_

_"Playing me."_

_"Oh, I've barely started."_ Lizzie wore a wicked smile, bringing the girl closer.

Perhaps time stopped when the blonde pulled her in, claiming her mouth again, hungry and intense, until Hope's knees gave in. She loved having that much effect on the girl, knowing she, herself, wasn't immune to the tribrid's beauty. _Damn._ How had she managed to make that trash bag of a jersey look so hot? By the time Lizzie was aware of her fingers, they had already slipped under the girl's shirt, her skin smooth, radiating heat. The contact sent shivers down Hope's spine, forcing a soft groan to escape her mouth. The siphon's hands wandering around a sensitive zone, combined with the intensity of her intoxicating scent passed through Hope's inceptors, made the shorter girl dizzy. Accordingly, her primrose-flavored skin aroused every last of Lizzie's senses, disarming any doubt she might previously had. She needed to feel her.

She pulled away, breaking their kiss to look at her eyes, asking for permission, while her hand was slowly and steady reaching for the girl's pants, when she suddenly stopped, inches before she could feel the texture of Hope's running shorts. The tribrid's disappointed expression wasn't reason enough for her to continue, she needed to hear her say it. Thankfully, the girl caught on quickly.

 _"I want this."_ she whispered, well-aware it sounded like more of begging than confirmation but she could not care less in that moment.

Before any of them could realize it, Lizzie's hand had slipped under the girl's shorts. Hope felt the girl's fingertips horrifically slick, milling around her center and for a second she wished she could disappear off the face of the earth, dying of embarrassment for the fact that she was so ready for her already. The only thing that consoled her in that moment, was the realization that Lizzie couldn't look or sound more pleased by that.

 _"Oh, my God, Hope."_ she panted amazed. _"You really do."_

Hope responded by burying her fingers inside the girl's skull and pulling it back, freeing some space of Lizzie's neck for her to work on, merely to hide her blushing.

The blonde felt her limbs go numb but she kept coming, gently brushing the girl's clit, making repeated, round movements that caused Hope to lean against the wall to keep her balance, for her legs could not be trusted anymore. She reached the girl's entrance with the tips of her fingers but when she felt her twitching under her, she returned right back where she started, relentlessly rubbing Hope's most sensitive area, heavenly torturing her.

Lizzie eventually gave in to the girl's silent pleading and smoothly thrust two fingers inside her, forcing a cry out of both of them, much louder than they could afford. The tribrid's hips unwittingly started moving towards the blonde's restless hand, raising momentum and friction, until the contractions started. She was so close to the edge when the blonde froze and blocked Hope's mouth with her available hand when the latter tried to complain. She was about to complain for that, too but the look on the siphon's face suggested she should really stay quiet. Like clockwork, the door knocked three times before Josie's voice resonated from the hallway.

_"Lizzie? Are you in there?"_

_"Uh, yeah, j-just give me a minute, coming right outside."_ Lizzie responded dazed, and rightfully so, considering her fingers were still inside the girl.

 _"Everyone's looking for you, why aren't you in the field?"_ Jo asked confused.

 _"I've got my hands full right now."_ Lizzie said cheeky, looking at Hope almost choking on her own spit. _"Organizing our upcoming birthday party, I mean. I'm skipping P.E. today."_

_"What? That's not for another year! And you never skip P.E., especially on the day of the trials."_

_"I'm growing as a person."_

_"Wha- Why are we talking through the door, just-"_ The girls tensed as they heard the handle slightly spin when-

 _"Let's go back and she'll catch up."_ Jade came to the rescue once again, her ears being too sensitive not to hear what was happening on the other side of the door before they interrupted it. _"Isn't that right, Lizzie?"_

 _"Sure, right behind you."_ Lizzie rolled her eyes and waited till the sound of their footsteps was lost in the distance. _"Isn't that right, Lizzie?"_ she murmured mockingly, finally detaching herself from the tribrid.

 _"You know she just helped us out of a very uncomfortably unpleasant situation, right?"_ Hope remarked raising an eyebrow, in the vampire's defense.

_"Wait, you think she knows?"_

_"Oh, she definitely knows."_ she confirmed almost satisfied.

Lizzie's gawp turned into a smirk and the disquiet of almost getting caught soon came out as a provocative laughter that she could not control. Hope briefly stared at the girl at a loss but the whole situation she'd found herself into and that contagious sound produced by Lizzie's mouth, made the girl snort, giving a boost to the blonde's laughing. Before they knew it, they were both rolling on the floor laughing without a good reason and without even realizing it, for the first time in what felt like forever, Hope was happy.

* * *

Lizzie's room was extra clean today and it smelt like.. vanilla? And why were there so many candles? These were only few of the questions that crossed the blonde's mind when she returned from the showers after the practice. Jo walking in with two crystal glasses and a bottle of some sparkly wine answered most of them. She had plans.

 _"Oh, hey."_ Josie greeted uneasy.

 _"Why is my room turning into a pornographic film set?"_ she asked, casually unwrapping the towel from her head and throwing in on her bed.

 _"I.. invited Jade to come over?"_ Josie scratched her neck, realizing she should've probably asked her sister first. _"Are you mad?"_

 _"Oh, that's just great! Please, don't mind me trying to sleep in my own bed, while some vampire deflowers my twin across the room!"_ Lizzie remarked supposedly thrilled. _"Why would I be mad?"_

 _"I'm so sorry, I know I should've talked to you first but now it's kinda late and I'm so nervous as it is and Jade will be here any minute, so please, do me this one favor and find another place to sleep for the night?"_ Josie begged truly stressed out.

Lizzie was about to start bashing the girl but the look on her face made her decide against it and she settled for an eye-rolling. _"Fine. But you owe me one, baby sis."_

 _"Really? Thank you, thank you, thank you!"_ Jo asphyxiated the blonde with her kisses.

 _"Yeah, yeah, I'm the best, I know. Okay, I guess I'm leaving, since my own sister is kicking me out to get it with Dr. Sucker."_ she threw a last gibe, naturally using insults as a coping mechanism, before she reached the exit. _"Be careful, alright?"_ she spat out softly and waited for Jo's nodding and got lost in the hallway.

And before she could realize it, Lizzie was standing on the familiar doorstep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... this was different. This was my first time writing (kind of) smut and I don't really know if it worked or not but I was just sitting on it for couple days without publishing it, until I thought "screw it".  
> Regardless, I hope you enjoyed it.  
> I would really like to hear your thoughts on this one, to take into consideration for future chapters.  
> Okay, bye :)


	13. Every dog has its day

_"Hey!"_ Hope sounded a bit confused yet intrigued, seeing the siphon on the other side of the door. She wasn't expecting any visitors but she wasn't complaining. _"Everything okay?"_

 _"Can I come in?"_ Lizzie asked scratching her elbow.

 _"Like you've ever needed permission."_ the older girl joked and made space for the girl to come through.

 _"I'm gonna stay here tonight."_ she announced, ditching her bag on the bed.

 _"Oh, okay.."_ Hope returned seemingly innocent but the hint of a smile forming on the edge of her mouth made Lizzie pout.

 _"Don't think for a second this is because we spent half a day together and now I'm ready to leave my toothbrush in the cup in front of your mirror, my sister kicked me out to bone Jade, so I don't have anywhere else to sleep, okay?"_ she spat out in one breath like she had to justify herself.

 _"I didn't say anything."_ the tribrid raised her hands in surrender.

 _"Right."_ Lizzie relaxed, remembering she didn't have to be so defensive around the girl anymore.

 _"So.. Josie's gonna go through with it, huh?"_ Hope asked, in reality just to change the subject.

 _"Is this a real question? Like, you want to sit here and start this conversation with me?"_ Lizzie said annoyed and maybe a little bit jealous.

 _"Okay, I'll just stop talking, then."_ she returned feisty and lied down on her bed, completely disregarding the blonde's attempt to say something.

Half a day. That's how long it took for Lizzie to screw it up. _Congrats, idiot._ She wavered a bit, before she walked up to the bed and sat down on the side opposite to Hope's, with her back facing the lying girl. She needed to say things she didn't want to be observed while saying.

 _"I am in a weird mood.. I took it out on you and I shouldn't have. I don't want to be like that, not with you anyway."_ Lizzie started, making the tribrid finally acknowledge her presence again. _"It's like a coping mechanism, whenever something seems like it's going well in my life, I feel this urge to sabotage it, until it's completely ruined. And the truth is, I had such good time with you today, my organism probably wouldn't be able to function without some drama."_ she slightly chuckled nervously in the last sentence. She wanted so badly to turn around and see Hope's reaction but she didn't. _"That's all."_ she remarked just to encourage the other girl to say something, anything.

 _"Okay."_ is all Hope opened her mouth to say, sitting in the middle of the bed on her knees behind the siphon.

Lizzie left a big amount of air she was holding in escape her lungs, hearing the tenderness in the girl's voice. Normally, this is the part where she would lie down on the bed next to her friend, like countless other times before and talk about anything that would come into her head. But this time was different. This time she wasn't just her friend and the tiny movement of lying back suddenly felt impossible. And what if Hope wasn't even comfortable with her in the bed? God, she didn't even ask her, just demanded to stay. What if she didn't even want her there and she's just too afraid to say anything?

It was like Hope could feel her panicking, because she reached out for her shoulder but when their skins touched it felt like electric shock went through Lizzie's entire body, making her jump on her feet.

 _"I- I'm gonna make a bed right here! Do you have any spare sheets and a pillow?"_ she claimed pointing at the floor, somewhere between the bed and Hope's desk.

 _"What?"_ the tribrid was startled, trying to figure out if she was serious or not.

_"For my head, I wake up really stiff when I don't-"_

_"Not that. There's no way you're sleeping on the floor."_

_"Well, would **you** prefer to sleep on the floor?"_

_"No one is sleeping on the floor!"_ Hope yelled, shocked that she even had to explain that. _"I mean, unless you have a problem sharing the bed with me."_

 _"No!"_ Lizzie hurried to clarify. _"I mean, whatever, the bed is cool."_

* * *

Jade cagily entered the brunette's room but her jaw dropped when she beheld the girl in front of her. Josie was in her steamiest black lingerie, leaning against the wall at her right, next to the door, holding a glass of something sparkling on each hand. The image made the vampire dizzy, she felt her throat drying and her palms sweating.

 _"Hey."_ Josie said shyly, as much as she wanted to be saucy tonight, the look on Jade's face made the girl blush.

 _"Uh.. hey."_ Jade meant to say more than that but she was truly speechless.

Awkward silence filled the room and Jo broke. _"I messed this up, didn't I? Of course I did, what was I thinking, this is too much, why did I think this would be a good idea?"_ she rambled full of shame.

 _"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait, what are you talking about?"_ Jade laughed stopping the freaked-out girl.

 _"You're making fun of me!"_ Jo pouted.

 _"Are you kidding me? You're gorgeous!"_ she reassured her, taking the glasses off of her shaking hands. _"I am.. I'm just speechless. I wasn't expecting that."_

 _"And how could you, that's embarrassing."_ the siphon started panicking again.

 _"Baby, stop. It's anything **but** embarrassing." _she walked further inside the room, taking a look around. _"Are all these for me?"_

 _"Yes."_ the amusement in the vampire's eyes gave Josie some of her lost confidence back. _"I promised you something at that game where we, witches totally wrecked you and the vamps. And then things happened and I didn't have the chance to make good on that promise."_

 _"Oh, you mean the game where you totally manipulated me with your spells? And I don't mean your literal spells."_ Jade got closer to the girl.

 _"Yes, that one."_ Josie eliminated the distance even more.

 _"I think about that a lot. You know, when I'm alone."_ Jade gave her the cheekiest smile.

 _"What are you thinking about exactly?"_ the brunette found her playful mood again.

_"You."_

_"And what am I doing?"_ Jo was inches away from the girl's lips.

 _"Well, you.. touch me."_ Jade suddenly became the one blushing.

The witch grabbed her girlfriend's waist, pulling her closer until she could sense the girl's zipper grazing her underwear. She felt a tickle between her legs and exhaled unevenly. Her fingers then slid through Jade's shirt, trailing along her spine, sending shivers everywhere.

_"Like that?"_

All the vampire was able to do was nod.

 _"And then that?"_ she rested her hands on Jade's hips, waiting for further instructions.

 _"Then I touch you."_ the ginger found her voice again.

_"Show me."_

_"Are you sure? Because if you have the slightest doubt and you're just doing it because you said you wou-"_

_"Show me."_ Jo repeated in a more demanding tone.

Jade obeyed with pleasure, her fingers began their way from Josie's thighs, slowly up to her waist and then down again, resting on her ass, slightly clasping it to feel more of her privates against her. 

_"Is that okay?"_ she asked before going any further.

 _"Yes, please, yes."_ Jo spat out seconds before she got interrupted by Jade's hungry lips. With one move, the siphon's legs were wrapped around the girl's waist, letting the ginger lead her to the bed and share her wet dreams.

* * *

The two girls gazed at the ceiling for a few moments before Hope finally spoke.

_"I had fun with you today, too."_

_"Oh, did you, now?"_ Lizzie's confidence was suddenly one hundred percent restored.

 _"Shut up."_ Hope laughed and turned around to hide her face in her pillow.

_"I'm just saying, we never finished. Well, you-"_

_"Yeah, I got it!"_ Hope reddened in the thought of that moment.

 _"Look at you all blushy, you weren't so shy this morning."_ Lizzie remarked lifting Hope's chin to meet her eyes.

 _"I am not!"_ she fought, knowing damn well that was a lie and she was just able to hide it earlier.

_"You're not? Okay, tell me how you felt this morning, when I was inside you."_

_"W-what?"_ Hope skipped a beat, not expecting to hear these words come out of Lizzie's mouth, ever.

 _"You heard me. I want to know how you felt."_ she fixed her eyes on the girl's lips, grazing her lower with her thumb. 

_"It felt.."_ Hope's breath has getting heavier and heavier as their bodies were moving closer, craving that heat and the need for the girl's touch overpowered any timidity.

 _"Yes?"_ Lizzie, on the other hand, was holding hers, waiting for the shorter girl's response when the latter grabbed her waist, eliminating the distance between them.

 _"Why don't I show you?"_ she whispered moments before her lips crushed into the blonde's and the soft bite she left on Lizzie's lower lip caused a groan to escape her mouth.

They had already started to learn each other's rhythm and everything came so naturally when they deepened the kiss, letting their tongues dance together. With a rapid movement, Hope found herself on top of the siphon, her hands glued to the girl's hips and her lips now trailing her neck. When Lizzie's pj's became an obstacle for her, the tribrid raised herself, getting comfortable on the girl's abdomen before she started slowly unfastening Lizzie's buttons one by one. The blonde's hands rested on Hope's hips and her eyes never left hers during the entire process. The older girl let the silky top slide to the sides of Lizzie's chest, revealing her beautiful naked upper body. She took a moment to appreciate the exceptional view in front of her, before she lowered again, resuming the work on the siphon's collarbone.

Lizzie felt a frisson of excitement as Hope's hands trailed from her ribs to the lower part of her breasts, grazing it with her thumbs and then back down again. Her tongue tortured the girl's chest with wet kisses all the way down to the start of Lizzie's pajama bottoms. Hope raised her head just a little to see the siphon's reaction, meeting a pair of ocean blue eyes begging her to continue -but she didn't. Instead, she returned to her chest, this time taking a nipple in her mouth while her hand played with the other, never breaking eye contact. The feeling of Hope's slick tongue against her bare, sensitive skin made Lizzie moan from pleasure, as she arched her back to reach more of the girl's mouth. The tribrid changed sides, taking care of the other nipple this time, while her knee parted the blonde's legs, resting between her thighs. To her greatest surprise, she felt the siphon flustered under her, trying to find the perfect angle of friction on the girl's knee, tensely moving her hips up and down to find her relief.

Hope removed her left leg, placing it on the outside of Lizzie's right thigh again but before the latter could complain for the halt, Hope's fingers filled the void, rubbing the girl's sensitive area above the flossy fabric of her pants. Even over that much cloth, she could feel Lizzie dampening under her touch. Simultaneously, her lips found the blonde's again, smothering the sounds of indulgence they were both making. Lizzie doubted the other girl had felt that good this morning, up until this moment she doubted anything could feel that good. The only thing that could make it better was-

 _"I see."_ Lizzie smirked as soon as she rolled over to have the tribrid under her this time. She needed to feel again that rush of knowing how wanted she was. And Hope was more than capable of delivering, digging her nails into the blonde's shoulder blade when the girl's fingers slid through her pants and grazed her clit over her sopping underwear. 

Someone started banging at Hope's door, making both of them twitch and turn to look at it. When they heard Alaric's voice echoing from the hallway, Lizzie rolled over so nervously and without estimating correctly the length of the bed, she fell out of it.

 _"Hope, open the door!"_ Dr. Saltzman growled, still knocking aggressively.

 _"Just a minute!"_ Hope yelled, quickly brushing her sex hair while Lizzie was buttoning up her shirt.

When they were both ready, Hope opened the door and Alaric barged in. _Wow, Lizzie really is her father's daughter,_ she thought.

 _"We have a situation in the barn, I could really use your he-"_ he spat out before he noticed his daughter was also there, standing in front of the desk. _"What are y-"_ he began but decided this wasn't the time. _"You know what, doesn't matter, we've got bigger problems."_

 _"What happened?"_ the girls asked in unison.

 _"Follow me."_ he said, already in the hall.

The girls exchanged a questioning look and obeyed the headmaster.

* * *

The barn was empty, when the three of them came in. Alaric led the way and kept extending his arms to protect the girls, just in case of an attack, as if that could help against whatever they were looking for.

_"Careful, girls, it must be here somewhere."_

Just in time, they heard a bark and Lizzie noticed a dog ear emerging from the corner of the fence.

 _"Dear daddy, does this dreadful, mythical creature happen to be a big dog?"_ Lizzie mocked, annoyed that a misconception ruined their night.

 _"It's not a dog, it's a-"_ Ric got interrupted.

 _"Cerberus!"_ Hope exclaimed as the beast came out of the shadows, revealing its three heads and the numerous sharp teeth as it growled to them.

_"Exactly. According to the Greek Mythology, Cerberus was the hound of Hades, guardian of the Underworld's gates-"_

_"-preventing the dead from leaving."_ continued Hope for him. _"Child of Echidna and Typhon."_

 _"Correct."_ he exclaimed.

 _"Nerd!"_ Lizzie teased the girl.

 _"It's not that hard to recognize, three heads, the tail of a serpent-"_ the tribrid was trying to justify herself when the monster's snarl disrupted them, approaching threateningly.

 _"Can we wait until after we've kicked its serpent ass for the history lesson?"_ Lizzie requested.

 _"Works for me."_ Hope created a ball of fire in her hands and attacked the beast but the only thing she managed was to make it angrier.

 _"I guess we can cross fire off the list."_ Lizzie remarked as she touched the girl's shoulder, taking enough magic to create an invisible shield to protect all three of them from it.

 _"Could you not do that without a warning?"_ Hope complained.

_"Uh, sorry, no time for permission when a gigantic, mutant pet is threatening to tear us apart."_

_"Girls!"_ Alaric stepped in.

 _"Okay, how do we do this?"_ Hope asked.

 _"I don't know but I can't hold this much longer."_ Lizzie claimed exhausted, as the monster was restlessly punching the shield with its body, determined to get past it.

Hope suddenly extended her arm towards her _"Take as much as you can, cause you're gonna need every bit of magic to pull off the containment spell."_

 _"Why, where are you going to be?"_ Lizzie was getting worried.

_"I'll wolf out, distract it while you do the spell, you're gonna need some time."_

_"Okay. I trust you."_ agreed the headmaster.

 _"No, not okay! Hope, you could get seriously hurt, who's to say he won't catch you and rip you to shreds?"_ she freaked out.

 _"Hey, I got this, trust me."_ she returned reaching for the blonde's hands _"When it's done, get the hell out of here and I'll lure it in."_

_"Hope-"_

_"I'll be fine. I promise."_ Lizzie nodded cautiously and squeezed her hand. _"Now, suck me dry."_

The siphon placed her hands around the nape of Hope's neck and drew their foreheads together. Thankfully, Alaric was too busy observing the monster trying to figure out its weakness to notice any of this exchange. By the time she opened her eyes again, Hope was already in her wolf form, successfully luring the monster away from them.

 _"You got this. Hope does, too."_ Alaric comforted her.

 _"Okay."_ Lizzie exhaled. _"Here goes everything."_

* * *

 _"Do you think she's back?"_ Lizzie asked for the fifth time while Ric was sitting on his desk, lost in his book trying to find something that would help them defeat the beast.

 _"When she's back, we'll know."_ he spat out _"It says here that the monster can't survive without his only vulnerable spot. It's heads."_

 _"Sounds.. pretty obvious, actually."_ she claimed.

 _"Yeah, except earlier, I tried to cut one off and it just grew back. I'm guessing we need to cut all three of them at once for it to die for good."_ her father explained.

 _"Go for the heads. Got it."_ Lizzie repeated, heading for the exit.

_"Wait, wait, wait, we need to make sure it's trapped first."_

_"I will."_ she confirmed outside of his office's open door.

_"Lizzie, wha-"_

_"Sorry, daddy."_ she said magically shutting it, locking her father inside.

 _"Lizzie! Let me out now! Elizabeth! Open the door!"_ she heard her dad yelling and punching at the wood as she ran away.

When she arrived at the barn, she witnessed wolf and monster tearing each other apart. And even though strong, Hope wasn't a match for a deadly, three-headed beast.

 _"Hope!"_ she cried when she saw her friend trapped, getting repeatedly hit by the Cerberus.

She pulled herself together and picked up the Japanese Katana sword, courtesy of Mr. Kurutta. Even if free of dark magic, it was still more than capable of slitting the creature's heads. She entered the spelled territory but the monster continued, completely ignoring her presence.

 _"Hey, bitch! Only **I** can cause pain to this annoyingly heroic tribrid!" _she screamed as the sword went through all three of the beast's heads, causing them to fall on the ground one by one, it's body following soon after. 

_"I bet Hercules couldn't do it that fast."_ she panted exhausted, throwing her weapon down and quickly turned to check on the girl, witnessing her now bare, human body lying on the ground. She ran and kneeled in front of her, covering her fragile, wounded skin with a blanket she'd taken from the library earlier along with the Katana, just for this purpose.

 _"Lizzie."_ she whispered in pain. The girl's pulse has weak and she could barely hold her eyes open.

 _"Hey, you're okay. You're okay."_ Lizzie caressed her head and proceeded to lift her, taking her inside in her arms. _"It's over."_

* * *

Hope was already feeling much better, still severely hurt but her supernatural healing process had started to kick in, making sure she would be up and around by the morning.

She was resting on the bed when Lizzie tiptoed in, in case she had fallen asleep.

 _"Thankfully, my dad was too relieved we're both okay to tell me off that hard."_ she said when she made sure the tribrid was still awake. _"Don't know about tomorrow, though."_

_"Dr. Saltzman will be fine. Although you shouldn't have locked him in his office to handle it on your own, speaking from personal experience."_

_"You're the one to talk, putting yourself in that much danger, again."_ Lizzie scolded her, walking up to the bed and sitting down next to her, reaching for the girl's hand.

 _"I knew you'd come for me."_ Hope smiled weakly.

 _"Hm.."_ the blonde doubted that was the case. _"Move over."_

Hope tilted her head annoyed, in response.

 _"Oh, right.. you can't! Because you got severely hurt, just as I predicted you would."_ she almost bragged, walking around the bed to lie next to her.

_"You're enjoying this."_

_"I am really not."_ she confirmed making a gesture to Hope to slightly raise her head for her arm to go across. She complied, getting comfortable on Lizzie's chest and resting her hand on the girl's stomach.

 _"So, the monsters are back."_ the shorter girl exhaled deeply.

The siphon's eyes were glued to the ceiling, as her fingers started running through Hope's hair, helping her finally breathe easy after the night they had.

 _"Yeah."_ she murmured, trying to hide her worry. _"Why do you think that is?"_

 _"I don't know."_ the wounded girl said low, her eyes kept less and less open. _"Any theories?"_ she asked but before the blonde could give any answer, she was dreaming peacefully inside Lizzie's arms.

The younger girl peeked under her chin and grinned at the drifted off tribrid. She left a small kiss on her head and followed the girl into a deep, restful sleep.

_Where they were safe._


	14. Expiration date

## Chapter 14 - Expiration date

The morning found the girls asleep in each other's arms. Lizzie was half awake when she felt Hope's hand slightly moving on her chest. She would wake every few hours during the night, just to check in on the tribrid -and because her hand would go numb- and then sleep again, once she made sure the girl was safe and sound, wrapped around her, refusing to let go. 

_"Mmm.."_ Hope hummed and blinked a few times before she could orientate herself. She glanced up to see her friend still sleeping and returned to her chest, readjusting her head in Lizzie's arms and shutting her eyes again, this time with a grin on her lips.

 _"Good morning."_ Lizzie smirked slumberous rubbing her eye with her free hand.

 _"Hey."_ Hope returned soft without making any effort to move or open her eyes.

 _"How are you feeling?"_ asked the blonde.

 _"Amazing."_ Hope spilled casually but her eyes nearly popped out of her head when she realized she said that. _"I mean, I'm not hurting anymore."_ she tried to fix it, pressing her eyes closed like she was waiting for a hit on the face, still frozen in place.

_"Good."_

_"Sorry, I fell asleep last night.. I was so tired. What were we talking about? Oh, right, the monsters.."_ Hope returned to last night's conversation but the siphon subtly cut her off.

 _"Do you want coffee? I'm gonna go make us some coffee."_ Lizzie shifted a bit to get up but Hope's hand was still around her.

 _"Coffee sounds good. But we could also stay right here."_ she suggested foxy, moving her head on Lizzie's abdomen, leaving small kisses across her stomach.

 _"Someone woke up in a good mood!"_ Lizzie chuckled, running her fingers through the girl's hair. _"But we can't right now, I promised my dad I would fill out the hours for the classes I missed and Dorian expects me in the library. I can't cancel it, dad is already pissed at me for last night."_ she said leaving the tribrid alone on the bed and grabbed her clothes.

 _"Okay."_ Hope accepted disappointed but her eyes glowed observing the girl changing. _"Although, you should really not do that in front of me if you're not planning on staying."_ she teased, struggling not to grab and throw her onto that bed, keeping her there all day.

 _"Hm.."_ Lizzie was ready to leave and Hope stood up to walk her to the door.

The siphon put her palm on the handle to open it but the tribrid's hand stopped her, resting above it. She waited for Hope to say something but she didn't, she just peered at her.

 _"Mikaelson, if you want to get me into bed, at least take me on a date first, jeez!"_ she pretended to be offended and opened the door, pecking the girl on the cheek before she got lost in the hallway.

* * *

Lizzie decided she should not, at any cost, return to her room, too afraid of what she'd see, so she headed to the kitchen instead.She grabbed a cup with the 'S' monogram on it and poured some coffee summarily. Just in time, her sister came in, blithesome walking towards the fridge, humming some melody without noticing the blonde in the corner of the counter.

 _"Why, morning, sister!"_ Lizzie spat out scaring the shit out of Josie, who slightly jumped before she turned around to face her twin.

 _"Lizzie! Hi!"_ Jo said uneasy.

 _"You seem like you had a good time!"_ she remarked half glad for her sister, half bitter that only her night got ruined by the monster.

 _"Uhh.. yeah, actually. It was.. amazing!"_ she unintentionally smiled in the last sentence, remembering the previous night. _"Thank you again, by the way. Where did you spend the night to?"_

 _"Um, Hope's."_ she spat out casually, focusing on anything but Jo's eyes.

_"Oh.. So, what's up with you two?_

_"What do you mean?_

_"Are you just friends or..?"_

_"I don't know."_ Lizzie answered truthfully. _"But I.. I think I'm falling."_ she admitted lowering her glance.

Josie stared at her sister shocked. She'd never heard her talk like that about someone. Much less Hope.

 _"Me, too."_ she returned to show her she knew how terrifying and beautiful and overwhelming that felt like. 

_"Well, shit."_ Lizzie knew they were both screwed. 

_"Just be careful, okay?"_

_"Yeah, you too. Anyway, I have to get to class."_

_"On a Saturday?"_

_"Long story."_

_"Okay, I guess I have to go, too. Jade's asleep and I want to surprise her with breakfast.. French toast, maybe."_

_"Ew."_ Lizzie rolled her eyes grossed out. _"Always go with the pancakes!"_ she added and heard her twin chuckle 'okay' with a wide smile on her face, as she headed to the exit.

* * *

Hope would be resting in bed all day and Lizzie could not be more mad or jealous she had to be with Dorian instead. She wanted to go back to the girl's room and spend the entire day with the tribrid, just as her sister would with her girlfriend. But she'd promised to fill her lost school hours and she couldn't bail again. 

It felt like forever but somewhere around 6pm the torture was finally over. Lizzie was famished, she hadn't eaten all day, so she headed straight to the kitchen. When she examined the inside of the fridge, she let out a sigh of disappointment, noticing there wasn't anything in there she could eat without having to prepare first.

 _"Hi, there."_ Hope shuttered the siphon's thoughts, greeting her from the entrance.

 _"I just wasted ten hours of my so valuable life learning about basic spells and wars that will never affect me personally, can't I have something prepared for me to eat? A sandwich at the very least!"_ Lizzie complained, not necessarily directing the blame to the girl, yet too tired and hungry not to mention it.

 _"You seem tense."_ the tribrid remarked, finally walking towards her.

 _"Ya think?"_ Lizzie closed the fridge, exhaled deeply to calm herself down and welcomed the girl, wrapping her hands around her waist in the most natural way, like this was how they had always been greeting each other. _"Sorry. How was **your** day?"_ she asked softer, resting her forehead on Hope's.

 _"Uh, you know.. boring. Come on, I wanna show you something."_ the tribrid broke free from the girl's embrace and took her hand, leading her out of the room.

 _"Wait? Where are you taking me?"_ Lizzie questioned baffled but she never got a response.

A few moments later, they were walking through the woods, Hope still refusing to give her an explanation, no matter how hard the blonde tried to get one out of her.

_"Are you taking me out here to kill me?"_

_"Keep talking and I just might."_ Hope joked and paused a few meters away. _"Here."_

Lizzie's eyes reluctantly followed the girl's pointing hand and her jaw dropped, witnessing the entire scenery Hope had prepared for her on the dock. The plaid tablecloth was set in the middle of the hardwood floor and on top of it were thoughtfully placed all kinds of goods, from dairies and a deli tray, to homemade roast beef with plums and mashed potatoes laced with mushroom sauce. The perfect dinner for two was completing the bottle of excellent, rhenish, white wine and the thousand candles that lighted up the place, beginning from the woods and forming a path till the center of Hope's masterpiece.

 _"Wh- What's all this?"_ Lizzie stammered bemused.

 _"Well, you said you're hungry!"_ she returned casually, shocking the siphon even more. Of course, Lizzie was used to being spoiled from her family, or friends that had hidden motives or were just too afraid of her but never from someone she had feelings for. _"Come on!"_ the tribrid resumed her walking but the blonde's hand pulled her back and lured her into a kiss so deep, she almost forgot why they were out there in the first place. It was her way of showing how much she appreciated the girl for doing this, because Lizzie wasn't fluent with the word 'thank you' in her vocabulary and honestly, it felt cheap in front of _this._ Thankfully, Hope was aware of it and welcomed the gesture undoubtedly.

In the next few moments, they were at the dock, Lizzie still examining every little detail of the image in awe. The tribrid nodded proposing to sit down and when the blonde obeyed, she followed her, placing herself on the ground across the 'table'.

 _"That looks awesome."_ Lizzie decided to talk, drooling over the roast in front of her.

 _"What are you waiting for, then?"_ Hope chuckled and picked up her silverware, encouraging the siphon to start eating.

 _"Mmm.. oh my God, Hope.. uh."_ Lizzie exclaimed, already chewing the first bite of the food in her plate. _"That's delicious!"_ she approved, taking a second one. _"Did you make this?"_

_"Uh, yeah."_

_"Wow. I should've stopped being that surprised you're good at something by now."_ she rolled her eyes with a smirk. _"Where did you learn that?"_

_"I used to cook all the time with my mom."_

Lizzie paused gobbling the beef to pay attention to the tribrid as she continued.

 _"She was a great cook!"_ Hope recalled those times. _"But um, I kinda stopped after.. anyway."_

 _"And you did that again.. for me?"_ Lizzie was oddly emotional. Maybe it was the release of a hard day's pressure. Or the last bite had not been properly digested, causing the burn in her chest. Or it was the realization that Hope had probably spent the entire day preparing this for her, that made Lizzie melt.

 _"Nah, I just thought it would be such a waste of talent not to bless the world with my cooking."_ she joked to lighten up the mood.

_"Well, the world is beholden. Cause that's just.. divine!"_

_"Why, thank you."_ Hope smiled, too pleased that her efforts had paid off.

The two girls continued their meal in silence. Hope opened the bottle of wine and started pouring some in Lizzie's glass.

 _"I knew you couldn't wait to get into my pants but Jesus, planning a whole date in half a d-"_ Lizzie went for a joke but then she realized. _"Oh, God, this is our first date! No! It can't be, I am a mess!"_ she panicked, making the shorter girl laugh.

_"No, you're not."_

_"I'm practically in my pajamas! I mean, what is that, polyester?"_ she claimed denouncing her baggy crop top and leggings.

 _"Lizzie, it doesn't matter!"_ Hope explained and proceeded to take a sip of her wine. _"It won't stay on for long, anyway."_ she muttered behind her glass.

 _"What was that?"_ Lizzie pretended she hadn't heard the girl but the subtle smirk on her lips suggested otherwise.

 _"Nothing. I just want to make a toast."_ Hope extended her hand above their dinner, waiting for Lizzie to meet her half way. _"To every exciting, terrifying, devastating, hopeful, fun moment that led up to this one. And the polyester you wore to our first date!"_

 _"Cheers."_ Lizzie pouted but clinked the girl's glass.

 _"So.. now, its game time."_ Hope grinned.

_"Come again?"_

_"We are going to play truth or drink."_ the older girl announced.

_"What are we, twelve?"_

_"Twelve-year-olds don't drink wine. Come on, it's a fun way to get to know each other better."_

_"What is there left to know about one another?"_ the blonde chuckled questioningly.

 _"We know each other as friends."_ Hope explained, making it clear she wanted them to be more than that.

Lizzie exhaled deeply. _"Okay, alright."_ she still wasn't sure about it but she didn't want to turn Hope down, seeing her so excited and having made a whole plan for them for tonight, which Lizzie found sweet.

_"You go first."_

_"Okay, uh.. what's your favorite drink?"_

_"Coffee."_ both girls spat out in unison.

 _"Come on, you knew that! Harder questions!"_ Hope pouted.

_"Fine, wh-"_

_"When it's your turn again."_ the tribrid cut her to take the baton. _"What is your worst fear?"_

 _"That this game won't be over soon."_ Lizzie deadpanned.

_"Come ooon, seriously!"_

The blonde gave some thought to it. _"I fear that my mental health will always stand in the way of my happiness."_ she lowered her glance.

 _"Lizzie.."_ Hope had that look on her face, the look the blonde hated, the look when people were feeling sorry for her. Of course, that wasn't the case right now, but the siphon despised being vulnerable, especially with that subject.

 _"My turn."_ she said, discouraging any attempt for further discussion. There was something else Lizzie was dying to know since the beginning of whatever this was. _"When did you start seeing me in a different way?"_

_"Don't you know?"_

_"I only know what I saw in your mind, which is basically you just saying you like me. What I don't get is how. I mean, duh, I'm gorgeous!"_ she primped her hair and got serious again. _"But, you know.."_

 _"Well.."_ Hope paused for a bit. _"I mean, we always had some serious tension."_ she chuckled before actually answering. _"But I think it was when I came back from malivore and you were the first person to remember me."_

 _"So, all this was because my sister blasted me with dark magic."_ Lizzie was slightly disappointed that it was a matter of coincidence.

 _"No, it wasn't because you were the only one that remembered me. It was a difficult time for me, not knowing what's gonna happen with the monsters and dealing with it all by myself. And when you came up to me aware of who I was, ready to help me with everything, I just felt like I had someone I could lean on again. And then everyone else remembered.. and they were all so caught up with their own stuff, forgetting how difficult this was for me. Landon was mad I didn't say anything, Josie was distanced because of the whole thing with the three of us, even Raf pushed me away because he could not control his own feelings. And I know they are entitled to their emotions but damn, I was going through hell. And **you** were there for me. We weren't even that close back then and you treated me like family when people I thought closer.."_ Hope lowered her eyes. _"Anyway, that's when I started having feelings for you."_

 _Wow_. Lizzie never knew it meant so much to her friend. She really went through hell. The blonde moved closer to Hope, reaching for her hand and caressed her palm with her thumb.

 _"Even though it took me a whole lot of time to admit it to myself."_ Hope added more cheerful.

 _"Yeah, tell me about it."_ Lizzie knew at first hand what it was like denying the truth to your own self.

 _"Next question. Why do you think the monsters are back?"_ Hope had waited all night to ask that one, noticing Lizzie's hesitation to answer this morning.

The blonde took a big sip of her wine.

_"Come on, you have to answer."_

_"No, I don't, that is clearly the point of the game. I'm not breaking any rules."_ Lizzie objected like she was accused of an actual violation of the law.

 _"I know you're hiding something. Just tell me."_ Hope asked serious and the blonde decided she couldn't keep deflecting.

 _"I don't know. But I think they are after you this time."_ she admitted sorrowful.

_"Me? Why?"_

_"Does this honestly come as a shock to you? It's always you. I don't know the reason but I saw how the monster strived to tear you apart. It didn't want an artifact, or my dad, or me. It's you it was after."_ Lizzie explained worried but her voice remained soft.

 _"Well.."_ Hope tried to think of something consoling to say _"As you said, it's always me, so I'm trained for this. It's nothing we can't handle."_ she spat out mostly to hear it herself. _"Now, I get to ask a second question because you owed me this one from this morning."_

 _"But-"_ Lizzie was by default designed to complain but then realized she didn't really care, she just wanted to see the girl beside her smile. _"Fine."_

 _"Great!"_ Hope grinned and put some thought to her next question. _"What is the thing you regret the most?"_

 _"Well, you know me! Hashtag no regrets!"_ Lizzie claimed.

_"There must be something."_

The blonde wavered. _"Actually, there is something. I once wished you were never born."_ she said full of guilt.

 _"That's it?"_ Hope laughed. _"I'm sure at some point I have wished for it, too."_

 _"No, literally. Before the unicorn, there was another monster. A genie. Jinny."_ she corrected, rolling her eyes. _"I was so mad at you for.. well, I didn't really need a reason back then. And it came to me, claiming she could grant me whatever I wished for."_ Lizzie could not believe there was a time she thought she would be better off without the tribrid.

 _"Whoa! And then what?"_ Hope has really into the story, like it wasn't the story of how she almost got erased from existence.

_"And I saw for myself what I now know without a doubt. There is no better future without you. There was barely **a** future without you. Anyway, I somehow cleaned up my mess but forgot it had happened to begin with. It wasn't until my sister's sword magic, I remembered everything."_

_"You really did hate me that much, huh?"_ Hope was surprised, maybe a little hurt but not mad, as Lizzie expected.

 _"I'm so sorry."_ the siphon fixed her glance on the ring on her thumb and played with it.

 _"I mean, even subconsciously, you tried to do better after this. With the bracelet and everything. And you actually did. Look at you, being able to open up and own up to your mistake."_ Hope took the blonde's face in her hands, forcing her to raise her look to meet the tribrid's. _"Lizzie, you've come so far from the person that wished me gone. And that's all that matters to me. And I really think you can find happiness. I just hope I can be a part of it."_

Lizzie's kiss came in breathlessly, trying to keep Hope's gaze away from the tear she felt burning down her cheek. But soon it became more, as the blonde slowly moved to sit on her knees, gently leading the girl backwards, until the tribrid's back touched the ground. Lizzie's legs parted to have Hope's waist between them as she broke off the kiss to stare at the girl under her. She tossed her hair to the one side, making sure they wouldn't stand in her way and her thumb traced the shorter girl's lower lip, only to rest on her jawbone as the blonde's mouth found her again, biting and sucking the spot she'd brushed. 

A rustle coming from the woods distracted the girls, making them turn that way. There was no one there. But that didn't mean getting caught out there wasn't a possibility.

_"Should we take this somewhe-"_

_"Yes."_ Hope didn't need to hear more to jump to her feet. She was growing impatience of all the interruptions. And so was Lizzie. In a matter of seconds, the girls were gone, silently agreeing that cleaning the dock was a 'tomorrow' problem.

* * *

Lizzie banged the door behind her while her lips were already crushing into Hope's, leading her to the bed. She helped the tribrid get off of her jacket and let it drop on the floor, without ever breaking contact. In the same tone, Hope grabbed Lizzie's face as the latter wrapped her hands around her, tucking her hips into hers. Suddenly, she was laying on her bed with the siphon on top of her. Lizzie, then, unfastened the girl's button and started her way down. The door knocked when the blonde has halfway there, making them both sigh.

 _"Are you fucking kidding me? This has got to stop!"_ Lizzie rose to her feet, furious. She was over this. Whoever it was, they weren't going to ruin another night.

 _"Lizzie!"_ Hope tried to stop her from murdering the person on the other side but the witch had already reached the door, while the tribrid was busy zipping her jeans up and taking her jacket off of the ground.

_"I don't know what you're looking for but you're not gonna find it here. And we were in the middle of something so, if you don't mind-"_

_"Landon?"_ Hope soughed, unable to believe in her own eyes, seeing the curly boy standing on her doorstep.

The phoenix's reaction was similar, from his confused look, while the blonde was yelling at him, to the moment he glanced at Hope and softened his expression, forgetting everything else.

Their intense stare contest broke off Lizzie, turning around to look at the tribrid like her world had just fallen apart.

Or had it actually?


	15. Reckoning

## Chapter 15 - Reckoning

_"H- How are you here? How are you alive?"_ was all Hope was able to ask when they were left alone, seeing her boyfriend again in the flesh.

 _"Wow, I was hoping for a more warm welcome before we get into this but okay!"_ Landon said between funny and serious, trying to calm down the tribrid, who looked moments away from a heart attack.

 _"Uh.. sorry, I just- I can't believe you're really here."_ she returned apologetically because she truly was thankful to see him again, even though her reaction was telling a different story.

 _"Well, I am! And I won't leave your side ever again."_ the boy reassured her, pulling her into a kiss she couldn't bring herself to stop.

* * *

Lizzie was moping around her room, trying to collect her thoughts and understand what had just happened. Landon had showed up, alive and well, waking her up from the dream she had been living for the last few days. _Of course, it was too good to be true._ EverythingHope had said and done that night was nice but that was before..

The _now_ was another story. And that now was killing Lizzie. She knew his return would change everything. It already had. She could tell Hope couldn't wait to be alone with him. Lizzie had left the room almost ashamed, without saying a word, seeing the woman that was about to be hers not five minuted ago, getting suffocated in another pair of arms.

 _"Whatever. I knew this would happen eventually. We were on borrowed time from the start."_ she kept telling herself but the truth was, she had stopped expecting him to come back and started believing that Hope would finally be able to move on with her. For a split second, she had believed it could actually work. Them together.

* * *

 _"When I was in malivore, he talked to me. My father."_ Landon spat out calm.

_"What? What did he say?"_

_"He knew he couldn't take over me because of your blood, thanks fot that, by the way. He offered to bring me back and stop sending monsters."_

_"Why would he do this? That doesn't make any sense."_ Hope said confused.

 _"He asked for your dead body in return."_ he added serious.

_"Oh. And what did you say?"_

_"What do you mean, of course I said no!"_ Landon couldn't believe that the girl even thought he would ever accept such deal. _"I offered my body instead."_

 _"What?"_ the tribrid screamed.

 _"One day, eventually, when you die, I will give up my body willingly to him."_ he continued. 

_"Landon, you shouldn't.."_ Hope's guilt and fear rose up once again.

 _"Don't worry, it's not going to be for a long time."_ he remarked, himself surprised that Malivore accepted this offer.

 _"Maybe not as long as you think. Lizzie was right. The monsters are back and they are after me."_ she explained worried for the both of them.

_"What? No, that wasn't part of the-"_

_"Did you really think we were going to get off that easily?"_ she remarked calm. _"It's alright, I can take care of myself. It's you I'm worried about. You shouldn't have given yourself up for me."_

 _"I love you, Hope."_ Landon stated taking her hand. _"Even if it's tomorrow, without you what kind of life would it be?"_

The tribrid gave him an uneasy smile and looked down. _"What about the Necromancer? He knew you were alive and was coming for you."_

_"Oh, he did. When I got out of Malivore, I woke up in the cemetery and he made sure I wouldn't find you before he gets the arrow again. He temporarily killed me and threw me into a well to keep me from coming here. He didn't know I can fly now! Sometimes. Anyway, I got out of there and, as it turned out, I was in Texas!"_

_"Texas?"_

_"I know, right? Apparently he was there all this time, before he returned to Virginia for his revenge. Thankfully, he wasn't around when I got out and I managed to escape his zombie-wardens."_

_"He was here looking for the golden arrow and he.. he got it."_ Hope realized uneasy.

 _"But he didn't find me."_ he consoled the worried girl. _"I'm trying to get back to you ever since."_

 _"I'm glad you did."_ Hope said more relaxed for the first time since the start of their conversation.

Landon started his way to the girl's mouth but her slight movement backwards made him stop.

 _"Uhm, does anyone else know you're back?"_ she spat out to avoid the unavoidable.

_"Not yet, I needed to talk to you first."_

_"You need to tell Rafael, he's going to be thrilled."_ she tried.

 _"Tomorrow."_ Landon was approaching again.

_"He's gonna be so mad if he finds out you were back and didn't immediately go to him."_

_"It's a good thing he doesn't remember me, then. Nobody does."_ he remarked.

 _"You're right."_ Hope ran out of excuses. _"You must be really tired after such travel."_

 _"Uh, yeah, actually. I missed sleeping with you in my arms so much."_ the phoenix smiled.

_"You should rest, I'm going to look for Josie's spell to bring everyone's memories back."_

_"But-"_

_"You sleep, I won't be long, just stay here and get some rest."_

_"Hope-"_ the boy called out but the tribrid was already gone.

He exhaled deeply and let his body fall onto the bed.

* * *

It was seven thirty in the morning and Alaric was already holding his cup of coffee while heading to his office, ready for another typical day. What he wasn't ready for is witnessing the tribrid sleeping on his desk and with her head buried inside a book, she looked like she had spent the entire night waiting for him.

 _"Hope."_ the headmaster called out but the girl did not move a bit. _"Hope!"_

 _"Get some rest!"_ the witch jolted waking up from her less-than-an-hour sleep. _"Wha-"_ she muttered realizing she'd drifted off in Dr. Saltzman's office.

_"Care to explain why my very valuable and private school journal made your pillowcase?"_

_"Um, I needed to find Josie's spell to return memories from malivore and I thought you might have written it down somewhere. I, uh.. I must've fallen asleep."_

_"You must've."_ Alaric commented. _"Wait, Josie's sp- what happened?"_

 _"Remember Landon?"_ she rolled her eyes at her own pun _"Nevermind. He's back. He's alive."_

 _"Oh, that's.. that's good news, right?"_ the man asked noticing her odd behavior.

 _"Yeah, of course."_ Hope confirmed.

 _"So, what's the matter?"_ Alaric pushed, still not convinced that everything was okay.

 _"It's nothing.."_ she tried to leave it there but the man's look demanded more. _"So, Landon was my boyfriend, right? But.. he.. he was gone for some time and.. a lot of things have changed."_

 _"Oh.."_ Alaric realized he accidentally got caught up in teen drama. _"Is there.. someone else?"_ he asked thinking he is already in it now, might as well be open in case she needed advice.

 _"No, thank you! I.. I can't talk to you about it."_ Hope denied to discuss that with the father of the girl he was unwittingly referring to. _"That'd be too weird."_

 _"Very well."_ Ric accepted. _"I just want you to know I'm here for you, besides my job as your headmaster and that you can trus-"_

 _"It's Lizzie."_ Hope spat out before she could realize it, making them both stare bewildered.

 _"Oh..uh.. That uh.. I.. umm.."_ was the noises he made trying to process the information.

_"Told you it'd be weird."_

_"And you were right!"_

Few seconds passed by with them just focusing at anything but each other, until Hope finally spoke.

_"Should we inform the rest of the school?"_

_"Adout you and Lizzie?"_ Ric said mind-blown.

_"Landon!"_

_"Oh, yeah, right, yep!"_ he rambled storming off of his office with the tribrid following him to the auditorium.

* * *

Hope entered the kitchen for a quick breakfast while Dr. S was gathering everyone for the briefing. She found Jade and Jo talking to the rest of the squad. Almost. A certain blonde was missing from the group. The tribrid greeted them and headed to her favorite part of the kitchen when Landon came in and approached to her, surprizing her with a neck kiss from the back as she was pouring some coffee to her cup. Hope twitched and turned around uneasy.

 _"Landon, hey."_ she moved creating some space between them.

 _"You didn't come back to your room last night."_ the curly boy remarked soft.

_"Uh, yeah, sorry, I got caught up.. "_

Thankfully, Jo got his attention as she passed through them to grab a glass of water.

 _"Hey, Josie."_ Landon smiled forgetting for a second that Jo didn't know him at all.

 _"And you must be Landon."_ Jo deadpanned, letting the tribrid know that Lizzie had told her everything.

 _"Oh, you've talked to them about me?"_ Landon asked his girlfriend excited.

 _"Uh, sure."_ Hope returned uncomfortable. _"Actually, that's what I wanted to tell all of you."_ she spoke up so the rest of her friends could hear her as well. _"Dr. Saltzman is to make an announcement."_

_* * *_

_"I know you're all wondering why you're here instead of attending to your classes."_ the headmaster spoke to the room full of confused, sleepy students.

Hope was standing beside her teacher, trying to detect her classmates as Alaric was making the introduction. Jo and Jade was there, second row, Landon was sitting a bit further back. But the tribrid couldn't find the one she was looking for in the first place. As if on a cue, the blonde walked through entrance, ignoring everyone's presence and stood at the edge of the balcony near the stairs behind the seats, drawing only one person's attention.

 _"There is a person in here we have all forgotten about due to obvious reasons. Landon Kirvy. Kirby!"_ Ric hurried to correct after Hope's hostile look. _"But enough of this, you will all know the rest in a bit. Hope, shall we?"_

 _"Uh, sure. You might wanna take a seat."_ she said seconds before she blasted the entire school with magic.

Hope walked through the unconscious students, all the way up to where Lizzie's body was laying and sat her down with her back against the gallery columns -because of course she wouldn't listen to Hope suggesting to sit down before doing the spell. She took a seat on the floor next to her, waiting for everyone to wake up.

Landon woke up first, still long enough, considering he hadn't forgotten anything.

 _"Did it work?"_ he asked walking up to the tribrid.

 _"We won't know until someone find their senses."_ Hope returned calm and stared at the ceiling.

 _"Ugh.."_ Lizzie handled her head to keep it from spinning.

 _"Lizzie! Are you okay? How are you feeling?"_ Hope asked worried, holding the blonde's face in her palms.

Landon joined them, examining the siphon's face closely.

 _"Like I wanna barf."_ Lizzie looked at the phoenix who was standing inappropriately close to her face. _"Oh, wait, that's just my physical response to your hobbity face."_

 _"Oh, great, her memories are back!"_ Landon exhaled relieved.

 _"Is it? And could you back off? There is something called personal space and I happen to take it very seriously."_ the blonde demanded and tried to get up once the boy moved aside.

 _"Here, let me help you."_ Hope held her arm but the girl sprang up on her own.

 _"I've got this."_ she deadpanned.

The two girls shared an intense look when they heard a voice from the waking crowd downstairs.

_"Lan!"_

_"Raf!"_ the phoenix cried and ran to hug his brother.

A bunch of the students just ignored the fact that Landon was back and walked out of the auditorium unbothered. Few of them stayed to welcome him, waiting their turn after the heartfelt moment. Hope smiled seeing the two boys finally reunite.

 _"So.."_ Hope turned to face Lizzie but the girl was gone.

The tribrid gave a last glance at the small mob to make sure her absence would go unnoticed and stormed off. She caught Lizzie at the hallway, heading to her room.

_"Hey."_

Lizzie stopped and turned around without saying anything.

 _"I.. I didn't see you for breakfast today."_ of all the things Hope wanted to say that's the one that came out.

 _"I figured someone had to clean up the mess at the dock from last night."_ in reality the siphon couldn't care less about the mess, she just needed a distraction and a reason to avoid any room Hope with Landon might be in.

 _"Oh my God, I totally forgot about that."_ the shorter girl exclaimed frightened.

_"Of course, you have more pressing matters to think about now. Don't worry, I'm pretty sure nobody saw our.. leftovers."_

_"Lizzie, I-"_

_"Look, I get it. We had a thing for a second, it was great, now he's back and you don't know how to break it to me. So don't. We did this before with Landon and Josie, when you came back from malivore and it's not cute anymore. We all knew the outcome then and we know it now."_ Lizzie gave up. _"Just go be with your yeti."_

 _"Wow."_ Hope shook her head. _"Defeatism looks terrible on you."_

 _"Uh, I'm being the bigger person here!"_ she complained that her effort went unnoticed.

_"Yeah, that doesn't suit you either."_

_"Fuck you!"_

_"What are you doing?"_ the tribrid questioned confused.

_"I'm clearly giving you an out."_

_"I don't want an out!_

Lizzie shifted. _"What?"_

_"I know we barely started but don't give up on us. I sure haven't."_

_"You haven't?"_

_"Hell no."_ Hope took a few steps closer to the siphon. _"I meant every word I said last night and Landon being here can't change the way I feel about you. I'm so thankful he is alive and he returned home but I can't keep waiting to feel something for him again just because I love him and don't want to hurt him. Especially now I know how it is supposed to feel like."_

 _"Wow."_ Lizzie grinned. _"You really are whipped for me, aren't you?"_

 _"Shut up."_ Hope laughed. _"Seriously though, I want this to work and for that to happen I'm gonna need some time to talk to Landon first. Are you with me?"_

 _"I don't know, Mikaelson, sounds too complicated."_ Lizzie exhaled. _"But I want it to work, too. Fuck it, I'm with you."_ she claimed, slightly lifting Hope's chin with her index finger and fixating her eyes on the girl's lips. _"Just don't make me wait for too long, okay?"_ she asked soft.

Lizzie's mouth formed a crooked smile at the girl's nod before she got lost in the hallway, knowing damn well she left one happy and overeager Hope Mikaelson staring at her back while walking away.

 _"Hey!"_ Landon bursted her bubble, startling her from behind.

 _"Oh, hey."_ she exclaimed completely off guard, turning to look at him. _"How did the reunion go?"_

 _"Uh, good, really good. I had missed everyone. Especially you. But when I turned to look at you, you were gone."_ he shared his grumble.

_"Uh, yeah, I wanted to give you some space and let your friends welcome you, since I already had."_

_"Yeah, barely. You left last night, too. Is something wrong?"_ Landon asked serious.

 _"No, everything is fine."_ Hope lied but immediately regretted it. _"Actually.. can we take a walk?"_

* * *

The twins, for the first time in so long, were in their room simultaneously, ready to go to sleep, no girlfriend sleepovers, no distractions, just the two of them.

Lizzie was brushing her hair in front of her mirror, while Josie was putting her pajamas on. 

_"So, Landon."_ Josie picked a dangerous subject. _"I mean, you told me about Hope and him but.. I can't believe I dated him."_

 _"Yeah, that makes two of us."_ Lizzie deadpanned without taking her eyes off of her own reflection.

_"Well, it doesn't affect me, I'm happy with Jade now. What about you?"_

_"In what world would Landon Kirby ever affect me?"_

_"You know what I mean."_ Josie insisted.

_"Hope is going to break up with him."_

_"Really?"_

_"She said as much."_ Lizzie finally glanced at her sister through the mirror.

 _"I hope so."_ Josie had her doubts.

 _"What?"_ the blonde questioned her reaction.

 _"I just don't want to see you get hurt."_ she admitted.

 _"Well, I won't."_ Lizzie stood up and walked up to the brunette. _"I won't."_ she repeated, mainly to convince herself.

 _"Okay."_ Jo decided to let go. _"Wanna sleep over?"_ she could tell her twin needed a hug tonight.

_"Nuh-uh, no way I'm sleeping in the defiled bed! If you want cuddles you come over here."_

Without any further discussion the two siblings laid down on the blonde's bed and Josie extended her arm to spoon the girl until she falls asleep, which took some time, considering she hadn't gotten a proper rest in three days. Her sister followed soon after.

* * *

Hope and Landon were passing through the park across the church in complete silence. The girl was trying to find the right way -if there was any- to say what she needed to say. She kept repeating to herself that it would be better to rip the bandaid off right away, than stay in an unhappy relationship, making them both suffer. Yet, whenever she tried to verbalize her thoughts, her throat felt like closing and she couldn't bring herself to start the conversation.

 _"What's going on?"_ Landon erupted, fully capable of telling something was off since he got back.

 _"I've been meaning to talk to you about something since last night."_ Hope finally spoke.

_"I figured as much. What is it?"_

_"First of all, I want you to know that I love you so much and I will forever be grateful for having you in my life."_ she said honestly.

 _"Um, I love you, too, but you're kinda scaring me right now."_ he returned confused.

_"Just let me say this."_

Landon nodded and gave Hope her turn to speak.

_"I was in a really dark place when we first met and you helped me out of it. You saved me."_

_"Well, you saved me first!"_ he remarked but soon realized that he interrupted again. _"Sorry. Continue."_

 _"You're the most kind, patient and loyal person I've ever met and I'm so sorry you didn't have anyone to appreciate that growing up."_ Hope's heart ached for this little boy and even more now she would be one more person in his life that let him down.

 _"It doesn't matter because I have someone now."_ he returned. _"I know what this is about."_

_"I don't think you do."_

_"You're terrified about the death sentence deal thing. But you don't have to! Nothing bad is going to happen to either of us. And I'm not gonna let my father and his tricks come between-"_

_"Landon, stop. Please."_ the girl looked devastated. _"This is not about the monsters **or** your father."_

 _"Not so sure about that!"_ Landon's expression suddenly changed. _"Uh, Hope?"_

_"I'm telling you, it's not. It's about-"_

_"Hope!"_ Landon yelled in absolute terror, turning the tribrid around to see the giant monster behind her approaching.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know, I know! Too much handon in this one! I promise it won't be a thing. It was kinda necessary at this point, hope you bear with me till the next one :)


	16. Green light

## Chapter 16 - Green light

It was Saturday morning and Lizzie was still in bed. Her sister had spent the night at Jade's and she actually appreciated it, she needed a break from Josie's rather often verbalized concerns towards Hope's intentions. Then again, maybe the reason Lizzie was finding them so unsettling was the fact that they were most likely justified. A week had passed and nothing, except the successive monster visits to the school, had really changed. Hope was still with Landon and as much as the siphon tried to give her space, she was running out of excuses to tell herself. _If she wanted to break up with him, she would have._

The door knocked but the blonde hummed and hid her head under the covers, unwilling to invite anyone inside. She heard the visitor entering anyway and from the footsteps she could tell it was her dad.

 _"Goodmorning, gir..l."_ Alaric said, noticing Josie wasn't there.

Lizzie immediately threw the sheets on her lower body and raised herself to greet her suspicious, clueless father. _"Hey, daddy."_ she exclaimed innocent.

 _"Hey, baby. Where's your sister?"_ he asked.

 _"Uh, she wanted to take a shower before.."_ she realized there weren't any classes today. _"Breakfast!"_

 _"Oh, okay.."_ Alaric spat out, most likely convinced. _"I came to ask if you, girls, would like to spent the day as a family, maybe go to town for lunch, I don't know."_ he suggested.

 _"Uh, are you sure this is the best time to leave the school, with the monsters being back and everything?"_ she remarked, in reality more because she didn't want to go anywhere right now.

 _"Well, Dorian will be here and notify me if anything happens. We'll be gone for just a couple hours. I thought you would like this idea."_ Alaric found something about the girl's reaction odd.

 _"No, I do."_ the blonde reassured him, not wanting to turn him down. _"Okay, I'll get ready and meet you downstairs in a bit. Josie, too."_

 _"Alright!"_ Ric headed to the door. _"You can invite Hope, too.. if you want.."_ he mutterer a bit awkward.

 _"Why would I bring Hope?"_ Lizzie questioned uncomfortably confused. _"You said this was a family thing."_

 _"No, I know, I just thought.. anyway, I'm just saying you can, if you want."_ he clarified and glanced at his flustered daughter. _"I'm leaving now."_

Lizzie stared at the door for a while but eventually decided to get up and find her sister.

She was on her way to the vampire's room when she bumped into a certain tribrid. Literally.

 _"Sorry."_ Hope apologized for not looking before coming out of the corner in a hurry, when she realized who she'd landed on. _"Oh, Lizzie, hey!"_ her expression finally relaxed.

_"Hi."_

_"I was heading to the kitchen. Wanna join me?"_ Hope smiled.

 _"I have to find my.."_ Lizzie thought about her father's suggestion. _"Actually.. I'm heading to town with Jo and my dad for lunch later, you could.. I don't know.. "_ she muttered almost embarrassed.

 _"Are you asking me out with your family?"_ Hope grinned and unwittingly almost laughed.

 _"This was a bad idea, forget about it."_ Lizzie regretted the minute she suggested it. _"It wasn't even mine, my dad wanted me to ask you."_ she defended herself.

 _"Your dad.."_ Hope processed the information. _"Oh, God!"_

 _"What?"_

_"I might have mentioned.. us to him."_ she admitted low.

 _"What the fuck, Hope?"_ Lizzie yelled pop-eyed.

 _"He asked!"_ the tribrid raised her shoulders, trying to justify herself.

 _"That's-"_ Lizzie exhaled deeply, trying unsuccessfully to calm herself down. _"Now you **have to** come! I can't deal with this alone."_

_"Lizzie, I.. I would love that.." she lowered her glance. "But I promised Landon we would spend the afternoon together. I've been avoiding him a lot and I couldn't-"_

_"Sure, yeah, I'll just have to tell my dad who -thanks to you- knows about us that you couldn't make it because you have a date with your boyfriend. Cool."_

_"I'm so sorry, I said I would go-"_

_"You also said you would break up with him."_ yelled the blonde.

_"I will!"_

_"When? Cause it's been a week."_

_"I'm trying. I know it sounds like an excuse but whenever I'm about to tell him something happens or a monster shows up. It's not that easy."_ she explained.

 _"Poor, you."_ Lizzie said almost spiteful.

 _"You said you would give me some time! You said you're with me."_ Hope stood up for herself.

_"I thought I could."_

_"So, what are you saying?"_ the tribrid asked terrified for the answer.

Landon stepped in just in time to cut the conversation short, greeting them and pecking his stock still girlfriend.

 _"What **can** I say?" _Lizzie returned serious. _"Enjoy your date."_ she added, finally acknowledging the boy's presence. _"And thank you for a very uncomfortable family gathering."_ she deadpanned and left the couple alone.

 _"That was intense!"_ Landon joked pointing with his thumb the way the blonde had disappeared to. _"Are you sure you're friends now?"_

 _"She's the reason you live and breathe right now so, perhaps think twice before making comments like that, okay?"_ Hope misplaced her overpowering emotions onto him and ran the opposite to Lizzie's direction.

The phoenix just stood there, looking at both ways dazed.

* * *

Lizzie knocked on Jade's door more intensely than she was going for. Two minutes later, a sleepy vampire appeared in front of her.

 _"I'm looking for my sister."_ the blonde announced cold.

Jade, without saying anything made some space for her to come in but Lizzie didn't.

 _"No, thank you. Josie!"_ she called out.

 _"Lizzie? What are you doing here?"_ Jo came to the door half naked.

_"Just be glad it's me and not dad. He was looking for you."_

_"W- what did you say?"_

_"I covered. But we need to go. Just put some clothes on first."_

_"Let me grab my stuff."_ Jo agreed and returned to the bed.

Jade witnessed the entire exchange silent. Something about the blonde was off. She was distanced and maybe grumpy but not snarky. She didn't even make a single comment on the vampire's presence.

 _"All good?"_ the ginger asked doubtful.

_"Why, ran out of things to meddle in?"_

_"Why do I even bother?"_

_"It's a mystery to me."_ she spat out. _"Jo, come on!"_

 _"Here, I'm ready."_ Josie emerged from the background, fully clothed now and pecked her girlfriend on the mouth before she followed her sister, who had already started her way back to their room.

* * *

Lizzie burst in first, picking something from her drawer before the brunette could see her and put it in her bag.

 _"What's going on?"_ the brunette asked, closing the door behind her.

_"Dad wants us to lunch with him today in town."_

_"Okay.. and why are you acting so weird?"_

_"You were right. She is not going to tell him. She never was."_ Lizzie sounded as stable as she could.

The girl heaved a sigh of understanding and hugged her sister tight.

 _"Anyway. Dad's expecting us downstairs."_ she claimed and headed to the exit but paused to look at her twin again. "You should tell Jade to come along."

 _"Really?"_ Josie's whole face brightened in the thought but she was also very startled by the blonde's proposition.

 _"Yeah, just because **I** can't bring my-"_ Lizzie cut herself off. _"Whatever, just bring her. I'll be at the mill when you're ready."_

Jo grinned from ear to ear and picked up her phone.

* * *

Hope was in the kitchen, strangely alone, drinking her coffee still, shaken from her conversation with the siphon. She hated the whole situation. That she hadn't talk to Landon in a week. The way she lashed out at him even though he did nothing wrong. But most of all, she was terrified her relationship with Lizzie had been ruined before it ever started. And she had no one but herself to blame.

_I'm telling him today. Even if it's too late for me and Lizzie, he deserves the truth._

* * *

Mystic Fall's square was quiet, most people were at their homes, gathered around their tables right now. Alaric gently pushed and held the Mystic Grill's door so that the three girls could walk in.

They sat down and ordered pretty quickly but everything after that was just a painfully slow trip of silent and awkwardness. At least to the blonde.

 _"So, Jade!"_ Ric decided to break the cycle and speak. _"I'm glad you joined us but if I'm being honest, I was a bit surprised."_

 _"Well, Dr. Saltzman, you can only imagine my surprise when I was told it was Lizzie's idea!"_ the vampire turned pretentiously shocked to look at the blonde. 

_"And I regret it already."_ Lizzie spat out expressionless.

 _"Actually, dad.."_ Josie took it upon herself to break the news to her father. _"Jade and I.. are dating."_

 _"Oh!"_ Alaric tried to process everything, considering he was expecting to give his 'blessings' to another girlfriend of another daughter today.

 _"I.. I hope it's okay with you, sir."_ the ginger was sweating. 

_"Uh, yeah, no, yeah. Does anyone else need a drink? I mean, not like a drink drink, a refreshment or a juice or something."_ he struggled to say, raising his hand to the waiter.

 _"And that's it, I'm out!"_ Lizzie suddenly got up, making everyone stare at her.

 _"You can't leave."_ Josie cried for help out of an awkward situation.

 _"We haven't even gotten our appetizers yet!"_ Alaric continued.

 _"I'm sorry, my stomach hurts and after this, so does my brain. I'm heading back. But, hey, enjoy your meal!"_ she announced and stormed off before anyone could claim otherwise.

She needed the fresh air to clear her head. But more important, she needed to punch something.

* * *

 _"Hey."_ Hope scratched her neck outside the library, where Landon was sitting, reading Magic: 101.

 _"Oh, we're talking again?"_ the boy asked closing his book.

_"Look, I'm sorry, I know I've been a little distant lately-"_

_"A little? Hope, after that monster attack last week you've been completely avoiding me."_

_"Not just you, though. Everyone."_ the tribrid tried to sugarcoat it.

_"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"_

_"No, I know, I'm sorry. I just needed some time to.. figure stuff out."_

_"What stuff?"_ Landon got more serious if that was possible.

 _"That's what I want to talk about. Walk with me?"_ she said and waited for the boy to come to her before they both cleared off to the hall.

 _"Are y'all still together?"_ Wade asked out of the blue, bumping into the couple.

 _"Uh, why do you ask?"_ Landon returned, trying not to sound offended.

 _"You don't seem like you are."_ the fairy spat out and was himself shocked at his words. _"Oh God, I'm so sorry, that was so rude!"_

_"Uh.."_

_"I think suspenders bring out my personality and look cool on me."_ he added and got lost in the hallway, leaving boy and girl staring at each other confused.

 _"That was weird, right?"_ said Landon.

_"Very! Should we go to the gym to find some privacy? It's closed, getting repaired since the merge."_

Landon nodded and in a matter of minutes they were sitting on the stands.

_"So, the reason I was so distant.. it has to do with us."_

_"Just spare the introductions and say what you have to say."_ he begged.

_"Landon I-"_

_"Uh."_ Lizzie's footsteps distracted them both. _"I was looking for the punch b-"_ she cut it short. _"Nevermind. I'm leaving."_ she declared but when she turned around, she faced a green, ten-feet-tall, quite un-easy on the eye monster growling at her.

Hope and Landon stood up startled, as the siphon made some steps backwards.

 _"Bad skin day?"_ Lizzie questioned, still slowly retreating, when the monster attacked using his fist that Hope stopped with magic, jumping in front of the blonde.

The spell threw the beast across the room, giving her some time to check on the girl.

_"Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine."_ Lizzie said defensive.

Landon joined them in the center of the gym _"Is that-"_

_"A troll."_

_"Shrek?!"_ Lizzie exclaimed freaked out, simultaneously. _"Oh, yeah, troll, that makes more sense, that's what I meant to say."_

The monster was up again. It growled loudly, only this time what came out of it's mouth got all over Hope's clothes.

 _"Ew."_ Hope yelled tossing her hands to get rid of some of the green goo.

 _"I know, right?"_ Lizzie said disgusted, coming out of behind Hope's back, where she was hiding to deflect the troll's spit.

 _"You're unbelievable!"_ Hope shook her head.

 _"I'm gonna distract it while you find a way to kill it."_ Landon offered but the girl's look suggested she wasn't so confident about this plan. _"I've got this, Hope."_

 _"Not sure you do but we're out of options right now."_ the tribrid answered honestly as the phoenix released his flaming wings, leading the monster out of the gym.

 _"Okay, we get it, you have wings, now shove them back in before you burn the whole school down!"_ Lizzie yelled frustrated and then muttered more quietly; _"Fucking show-off."_

_"You're so jealous and it really turns me on."_

_"What?"_

_"What?"_

_"Did you just-"_

_"I totally did, why did I say that?"_ the shorter girl asked terrified.

_"I might be reaching but I think the goo is making you.. you know, spill the beans."_

_"Too narcissistic of an assumption but I think in this case also true, by the way I'm really turned on by your smart ass brain, too. STOP. Wha? NO!"_ Hope fought herself covering her mouth with her palms.

 _"Are you sure we have to get rid of this monster, I kinda like it."_ the blonde returned, enjoying herself.

_"Lizzie!"_

_"Okay, okay."_ she got serious again. _"Has anyone else been infected?"_

 _"Oh my God, Wade!"_ Hope connected the dots. _"I thought he was being weird earlier but then again, when isn't he?"_

 _"Alright, Let's see, I might have a way to reverse it."_ the siphon claimed.

_"Don't you think it's more important to kill the troll first?"_

_"I don't know, would you prefer to go out and find it in this state?"_

_"God, no!"_ Hope exclaimed, terrified in the thought of her just walking around the school unable to close her mouth.

_"That's what I thought. Come on."_

* * *

The two girls were in the library, Hope was quickly putting on the stallions outfit she grabbed from her locker on their way there, while Lizzie was making some sort of a potion she found in Bonnie's spell book.

 _"Done!"_ the siphon yelled and raised the bottle with the purple liquid.

 _"What is this, now, poison?"_ said Hope, taking it in her hand and suspiciously smelling it.

_"Don't you trust me?"_

_"I trust you with my life, I was just trying to be funny. Damn it!"_ the tribrid would be absolutely furious if it weren't for Lizzie's subtle grin at the girl's words. She decided to drink, effective or not, at least her lips would be sealed for a while.

 _"How are you feeling?"_ Lizzie asked a few moments later.

_"I.. I think it worked!"_

_"Do you touch yourself thinking about me?"_

_"Oh, yeah, absolutely, all the time."_ Hope answered effortlessly until she realized and reddened. _"What's wrong with you, why would you ask that?"_

 _"I was just checking to see if it actually worked!"_ the blonde returned defensive. _"And now we know it didn't so, you're welcome."_ she added supposedly strictly but she was trying hard to hold back a giggle.

 _"Or you just wanted to humiliate me."_ Hope fought back.

_"Do you feel humiliated?"_

_"Not really."_

The two girls exchanged _a look._

 _"Okay, new plan, we wait here for the trolls and then kill the one that can't fly."_ Lizzie declared. _"With that spear I found in dad's armory. And let's hope the spell will be broken with its death."_

 _"How do you know they will fi-"_ Hope's sentence got cut short by the shrill sound of the beast's nails scratching the wall in the hallway.

 _"Because it wants you, not.. him."_ Lizzie explained as Landon's face wiped the floor from the fall and the monster walked in deadly behind him. _"I got this, go!"_ she gave Hope the green light to check in on the wounded boy and ran to the monster herself.

 _"Landon, Landon, are you okay?"_ the tribrid asked, kneeling next to the laying boy.

 _"I couldn't keep it away any longer."_ he wheezed.

Hope turned around just in time to witness Lizzie drive the weapon into the troll's heart. The blonde made sure it was not going to get up anytime soon and raised her hand to reassure the girl with a thumbs-up. The tribrid smiled at her gesture and helped the phoenix up.

_"I failed to keep the monster out of the prop-"_

_"We need to break up."_ Hope spat out at once.

_"What?"_

_"I want us to be over."_ she explained.

_"Is it because I couldn't keep the troll-"_

_"It's not about the troll!"_ Hope erupted.

 _"What changed?"_ Landon tried really hard to comprehend what was going on all of a sudden.

_"My feelings have."_

_"Since when?"_ he couldn't believe his ears.

 _"For a long, long time."_ she returned lowering her glance.

 _"I c-"_ Landon let a nervous laughter out _"I can't believe this. You were playing me this whole time."_

 _"No, I wasn't, I swear! I love you."_ she screamed.

 _"I don't believe you!"_ he growled.

 _"I literally cannot lie."_ Hope spat out and turned around to look at Lizzie dazed, asking with her eyes why the fuck couldn't she still but the blonde seemed just as confused.

 _"Then there's still a chance."_ he cried out.

 _"No, Landon, there's not."_ the girl fought to stay calm.

_"Why?"_

_"Cause I'm in love with someone else!"_ Hope's voice echoed across every last inch of the room, leaving everyone speechless until the sound of the spear exiting the ogre's chest and slitting its throat got their attention momentarily.

 _"Now it's dead!"_ Lizzie shouted from few feet away.

Hope returned to the boy. _"Landon, I'm so s-"_

 _"No, fuck this!"_ the brunet bellowed and stormed off.

Hope sighed and massaged her forehead with her fingertips.

 _"Jealousy is indeed a green monster."_ Lizzie realized in awe but the time for jokes had passed and the tribrid just gave the blonde the side-eye before she got lost in the hallway.


	17. Something to remember

## Chapter 17 - Something to remember

_"What happened? Why did you call me down here?"_ Hope asked her headmaster, when she arrived at the tunnels beneath the school.

 _"Because I just discovered where the monsters are coming from this time."_ said Alaric, pointing at the spot where the traveler's blood fountain once were.

 _"How long has this pit been here?"_ she questioned startled, seeing the puddle of black goo, like it was following her everywhere, today of all days.

_"I'm guessing since we got Landon into the pit with your blood in his system. I must've forgotten it would be relocated. Up until two weeks ago it wasn't even a problem. I hadn't been in here since Mrs. Greasley and the triad's attack."_

_"But **I**_ _remembered.. the whole time. I should've found it sooner."_ the tribrid blamed herself.

 _"Hey, at least now we know and we can stop the monsters before they even see us coming."_ he claimed in a comforting tone.

 _"That's not the only thing we'll be able to do."_ Hope's expression changed once it hit her; _"We can get rid of the Necromancer once and for all! It's the only thing that can keep him away."_

_"I don't know, Hope, it sounds risky. And he hasn't bothered us in a while.."_

_"But he will! Landon's here, Chad is-"_ she gasped in the realization. _"Chad! That's it! If he knew Chad is locked up in our cellar, he would be here in seconds. We would just have to let him know and-"_

_"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down for a moment! Even if we managed to trick him into coming down here, how do we push him into the hole? He's powerful. And vengeful. I don't want to risk all these kids' safety for half a plan."_

_"But we have the element of surprise this time! We'll figure out the rest. C'mon, Dr. Saltzman, you know it's out best shot."_ she pushed a little more.

 _"Alright, fine."_ he wavered. _"We'll think of a plan that we'll use only, I repeat, only if he attacks the school. Until then, we are dealing with the monster problem."_ he stated with his headmaster voice.

 _"Works for me. I'm going to call aunt Freya about some spells I think might help. If he attacks."_ she emphasized to convince him. _"Will you be okay here by yourself?"_

 _"You know I will." declared Ric, loading his crossbow. "Okay, better safe than sorry."_ he said giving her permission to proceed, knowing well she would have nonetheless.

 _"Okay."_ she nodded and headed to the door when the man's voice made her halt.

_"Oh, and Hope? Happy birthday!"_

* * *

Lizzie took a big sip of her coffee and looked around the empty kitchen. Despite her efforts, she couldn't but wonder where the tribrid was and why she hadn't showed up in class earlier today. _Today.._ How bad she wanted to spend this day with the girl of the hour. But knowing her, she wouldn't even want to be celebrated. Especially with the blonde. The whole situation was a hot mess right now, just like the dark liquid in her cup she was twirling around her fingers for a while, unable to turn her focus on anything else.

 _"It's you, isn't it?"_ Landon shattered the siphon's thoughts from across the room. 

Lizzie couldn't even tell how long he'd been standing there. Didn't seem concerned about it either. " _It's early, be more specific."_

 _"The person she's in love with. It's you."_ he spat out cold.

 _"I don't know what you're talking about."_ she returned colder.

 _"Of course,"_ his voice cracked in a desperate laugh as he exhaled, _"it was right there, I just didn't want to see it."_

Lizzie glanced momentarily at her hands again before she left the mug on the counter, her back leaning against it, still.

_"So, what?"_

_"Are you together now?"_ he asked supposedly indifferent.

_"No."_

_"Can't say I'm sad about it."_ he continued in the same tone. _"But wasn't that the whole plan? To break up with me to be with you?"_ and there was that spite he was struggling to hold back all this time.

 _"Not discussing that with you."_ she stood to her feet and grabbed the cup again, ready to leave the room when-

 _"Look, I know what's like to have to choose between two people you love."_ he claimed, more willing this time, making the blonde halt. _"You have to let someone go. I did it to Josie."_ he exhaled deeply at the memory. _"Some people might say I even deserved it."_

_"Me, I'm some people."_

_"The point is,"_ Landon kept talking, ignoring the girl's comment _"I know how painful that is and I don't want that for her."_ he admitted and Lizzie was truly lost, having no idea where he was going with this. _"Now, I'm still mad to tell her but as far as I'm concerned, she deserves to be happy, even if that's with you."_

 _"Oh, how thoughtful of you to give us permission."_ she taunted. _"Except I never asked for it."_ she fought but then relaxed a bit and added low _"Besides, it's too late. She wants to be alone."_

 _"No one wants to be alone on their birthday. Not even Hope."_ he confirmed, surprising the girl.

 _"You know, sometimes, from certain angles, you're not that much of a disappointment."_ was Lizzie's greatest attempt to a compliment.

 _"I absolutely hate you right now, so your half-insult doesn't do anything at this point."_ he declared.

 _"That's a great start, really. See you around, Kirby."_ she gave him an almost smirk and walked out of the kitchen.

* * *

Jade entered the library to find the tribrid sitting on the couch, talking on the phone.

 _"Yes. I will. Thank you, Aunt Freya. I miss you, too. Kiss Keelin and Nik for me. Okay. Bye."_ Hope said to the other line and ended the call.

 _"Happy birthday?"_ asked the vampire, overhearing the woman on the phone wishing it to the tribrid.

 _"Um.. yeah."_ she admitted.

 _"Awesome! So, what are we drinking?"_ shouted the ginger, throwing herself onto the sofa next to the girl, her legs up, hanging from the arm of the furniture.

 _"I'm.. not doing anything actually."_ Hope shrugged.

 _"Well, that sucks!"_ Jade claimed. _"Why not?"_

 _"I've got nothing to celebrate for."_ she spat out but the look on the girl's face suggested she sounded sorrier than she thought she did. She quickly got up and explained in a cooler tone _"Besides! The pit problem is more important right now."_

_"What pit problem?"_

* * *

It was already noon and Hope was in her room, already showered and in her pajamas. She had found the perfect spell to capture the Necromancer in the tunnels. Now the only thing left to figure out was a way to get him there. But one small win at a time. She decided to take it easy for once and treat herself with some decent rest. She knew that would be ruined as soon as she heard the door knocking.

 _"Are you still undressed?"_ Jade noticed coming in.

 _"Still?"_ Hope questioned the girl's intentions.

 _"We're getting out of here."_

_"Jade-"_

_"Thirty minutes. Front gate. Be there."_ she insisted and left the room.

The tribrid sighed but complied and in thirty minutes she was outside of the building, walking towards the main entrance. Few meters before she reached her destination, the gates opened, slowly revealing the light blue 1969 Chevy Camaro parked right outside and most importantly, the beautiful blonde woman behind the weel, waiting for her. Hope halted in the sight.

 _"What are you waiting for?"_ said the siphon, totally checking the girl in the black top and red skirt out.

 _"Lizzie, what are y-"_ she returned at a loss _"Where's Jade?"_

_"In the trunk, she pissed me off."_

_"What?"_ Hope shouted.

 _"Relax, she's already down town with my sister. I'm just your ride."_ she remarked innocent.

_"To where?"_

_"Get in, loser, we are going partying!"_

The girl followed the blonde's order and in a matter of seconds they were gone. Most of the trip they spent in silence, Lizzie was focused on the road ahead and Hope on Lizzie's hand changing gears and holding the steering weel, then returning to rest on the clutch. There was something so attractive about the blonde driving, Hope couldn't quite put her finger on. But it didn't matter, she was just enjoying the ride in the same way Lizzie was enjoying the feeling of the tribrid's glance often sliding towards her.

 _"Are we.. good?"_ the shorter girl finally dropped the question.

_"Well, I'm taking you out on what is basically a double date with my sister and her girlfriend, so I'd say we're fine.. for now."_

_"What's up with that? Fighting monsters is one thing, but teaming up with Jade? And you're calling **me** whipped!"_ Hope laughed.

 _"Meh, she's not that bad turns out."_ shrugged the siphon _"I was thinking about throwing you a whole ass birthday party back there but then decided against it."_

 _"How come? Don't get me wrong, I'm glad you didn't, it's not my thing. But it is yours.."_ she claimed.

 _"It's true, I'm the best party organizer there is. But the day is not.. about.. me."_ she muttered, eyes glued on the road.

 _"Wow, you struggled a lot with that last sentence."_ Hope remarked.

 _"But I said it, didn't I?"_ Lizzie narrowed her eyes at the girl in the passenger seat for a moment but immediately relaxed. _"Besides.. I'd rather have you all to myself tonight."_

 _"You know, we could have just stayed in, then."_ Hope murmured all innocent, dragging her eyes from the road to her hands picking her nail polish and back to it, as Lizzie was parking.

The machine was turned off and Lizzie finally stared at the tribrid for what seemed like forever. Their faces were really close, yet not close enough for Hope's liking. 

_"Nonsense, birthdays are important, we have to celebrate them!"_ Lizzie suddenly took off her seatbelt and jumped out of the vehicle, knowing better than to let Hope distract her into canceling her special day.

The tribrid sighed defeated and followed the blonde unwillingly, yet her whole mood changed as soon as she set foot in the entertainingly loud place.

 _"Wow."_ Hope looked around impressed, seeing a bunch of young people vibing to the uplifting beat, followed by the on-and-off, colorful lights.

 _"I know."_ Lizzie smiled and took the girl's hand to lead her to the corner of the bar, where Josie and Jade were dancing dangerously close, having the time of their life.

 _"Hey."_ Hope greeted the affectionate couple.

 _"Hope! Finally, we were waiting for you, guys!"_ yelled the brunette to overpower the noise. 

_"Seems like you were just fine without us!"_ the tribridteased and hugged the girl that wished her happy birthday.

 _"Here!"_ said the vampire, passing her a glass of a reddish liquid with ice cubes.

 _"What's that?"_ Hope asked suspicious, receiving the drink.

 _"Cherry juice."_ winked the ginger.

 _"It's spiked!"_ Josie whispered full of excitement, clearly she'd had some of it.

 _"To Hope!"_ Jade raised her glass and the rest of them repeated, clinking their drinks together.

And like that, the party had started.

Who would have thought a night out with the girls and a bit of alcohol would be exactly what Hope needed to finally relax from everything and have some actual fun? _Oh, right, Lizzie. Lizzie knew._ The tribrid smiled between her straw, seeing the blonde dancing with the others like nothing else mattered. It really was all it took for her to loosen up and enjoy herself on her birthday. She hadn't done that in so many years. Typically, this day was just a reminder that the people she loved most weren't with her anymore. Her last birthday she'd spent in malivore and she was almost glad she didn't have any sense of time to realize when it was. But this time felt different, this time she had one right there. In fact, this person dragged her ass here and she couldn't be more thankful for it. 

Lizzie smirked at the distracted girl standing near the bar, shuttering her thoughts as she approached.

 _"Hey."_ said the siphon soft, placing her hands on the girl's hips. Hope bit her straw in the gesture. _"Why did you leave? Got tired already?"_ she teased.

 _"Me, tired?"_ the tribrid returned in the same tone, placing the drink on the bar to pull the blonde closer, her hands intertwined behind the girl's waist. _"I haven't even started."_

_"Oh, is that right?"_

Before Lizzie could finish her thought, Hope diverted it with her hips moving right and left, still attached to the siphon's, her movements always following the rhythm. The taller girl's mind went blank for a second but she immediately snapped out of it, deciding two could play that game. She slowly dragged her hands a bit higher on the girl's waist, just enough to find her radiant skin. Hope's teasing smile faded into a straight line full of yearning, as she met the siphon's equally lustful eyes. 

_"We're heading back."_ Jade interrupted their stare contest, taking hers and Josie's jackets from the stool behind them. _"I hope it's okay, Jose is a little tired."_

 _"I bet."_ Hope mocked, staring at the brunette who was still dancing somewhere in the background. _"Of course it's okay, thanks for dragging me out of my room."_

 _"Of course."_ replied the vampire and gave a long glance at the blonde.

 _"Make sure my sister gets home safe."_ Lizzie ordered, looking at the tipsy siphon.

Jade nodded and took her girlfriend's hand. _"Goodnight!"_

 _"Have a good one!"_ Josie winked and giggled before they left.

 _"Your sister is a little wasted, isn't she?"_ Hope laughed once they were alone again.

 _"You're the one to talk!"_ Lizzie joked _"I saw you snarfing that gin earlier!"_

_" **You** said I should treat myself!"_

_"And I stand by that. I'm driving but you can have at it!"_

_"Nah, I want to remember every second of this moment."_ Hope approached again.

 _"Are you having fun?"_ Lizzie asked serious, almost nervous.

The tribrid lifted on the tips of her toes to briefly reach the girl's mouth and like that, the blonde had her answer. 

_"Let's dance."_

* * *

 _"Wow."_ Hope exclaimed looking around once they got back to the school and entered the twins' room.

Lizzie had converted the whole place into a ballroom, with silver balloons and everything.

 _"Best. Party. Organizer."_ shrugged the blonde, confused that her skills were still an amazement to the tribrid.

 _"But we.. I mean, you.. we already celebrated outdoors."_ Hope tried to find the right words, still in shock of all the planning.

 _"Yeah, well, that was in case you wouldn't come out so, don't get ahead of yourself."_ Lizzie responded but that made it even sweeter in Hope's eyes, the fact that the girl had put so much effort to a backup plan, determined to give her something to remember on her birthday. 

_"Okay."_ she returned soft and sat on the foot of Lizzie's bed that was now pushed to the corner of the room.

 _"Well.."_ Lizzie gulped and took a small box out of her desk drawer. She returned and joined the tribrid on the bed. _"That's for you."_ she said nervous, yet excited, revealing the black pack wrapped in a velvet red ribbon. 

_"I get a gift, too?"_ the shorter girl questioned, overwhelmed by all the successive surprises.

 _"Do you honestly not know how birthdays work?"_ Lizzie tilted her head and raised her eyebrow. _"Come on, open it."_

The blonde's eyes were stuck on Hope's face as she was trying to open her present, unwittingly smiling, seeing the girl's joy. Lizzie knew she loved receiving gifts but she would have never imagined how good it would feel giving them. The tribrid slowly uncovered the box, exposing the silver bracelet laying underneath. It was beautiful; Discreet, nothing extravagant, something that Hope would absolutely wear. The only singularity was the distinct symbol in the center of the jewel that the girl immediately recognized.

The sparkle in Hope's eyes realizing it was their houses' monograms intertwined. That was better than any present the siphon could've ever received.

 _"Lizzie, that's.. it's.."_ she looked at the siphon for a moment, her eyes slightly watering. She took a breath to get it together and glanced at her again. _"Be my girlfriend."_

 _"I knew I was great at picking gifts too, but man, did I nail this one!"_ Lizzie joked to hide the vulnerability this question made her feel.

 _"I'm serious. I don't want to wait anymore, I just want.."_ Hope's voice got softer _"I want you."_

 _"Same."_ she whispered between the tribrid's lips, moments before they became one.

 _"Could you, um.. help me with that?"_ asked the tribrid, holding the jewel near her wrist, when they broke off the kiss.

Lizzie took the beginning and the end of the wristlet and gently crossed it around the girl's hand, feeling Hope's gaze burning her skin every step of the way. 

_"There, all don-"_ she tried but Hope's lips cut her off, pulling her into a more intense encounter this time. _"Wait."_ Lizzie paused to cast a spell on her door, making sure no one would interrupt them again. _"Much better."_ she gave the girl a mischievous smirk and picked it up right where they left off.

Hope couldn't hold back her smile when Lizzie's tongue invaded her mouth, yet it soon turned into a desire for response to the girl's game. She dragged her fingers across the blonde's jawline until they fell onto her lap, exactly where the tribrid suddenly moved to sit on, making sure to have Lizzie between her legs. The immobilized girl reacted, resting her hands on Hope's waist only to pull her closer, none of them willing to break the contact. Lizzie could feel the girl's bare skin radiating heat under her skirt, with her body practically wrapped around hers. She let the girl slide a bit backwards and pulled her back up, creating a friction Hope found so pleasing she began to recreate by herself, slightly moving her hips back and forth, as close to Lizzie's zipper as possible. The blonde bit the flustered girl's lip and let her hands drop a little lower, thing that made her bite her own even harder. Hope moaned and her movements stopped being this settled, as she basically started riding the siphon.

Lizzie's hands tightened around the girl's ass, as she got up, carrying her to the southward side of the bed and it was only when Hope's back hit the mattress, their lips parted. The blonde felt dizzy for a moment and she wondered. She hadn't touched her drink tonight. Maybe it was the twin connection telling her Josie had enough for both of them. Or perhaps it was the beautiful, aroused girl underneath her, silently pleading for her touch that made Lizzie's head spin.She decided to stop wasting time overthinking it and quickly helped the tribrid out of her top before she took off her own. She returned to the girl's mouth while her hand trailed Hope's thigh, slowly raising her skirt with the help of her knee that was now teasing the girl's sensitive area. 

When the latter's breathing got heavier, Lizzie began her way down, leaving wet kisses on the road. Much to Hope's dismay, she paused and raised herself to move to the bottom of the bed, yet the tribrid's face lit up when the girl started slowly removing the rest of both their remaining clothing. When they were left with nothing but their underwear, Lizzie returned to the shorter girl's belly, right above the beginning of the cloth and resumed her task while her fingers slid under its corners, carefully dragging it down. Hope slightly raised her hips to make the girl's job easier and their eyes locked until the last piece was completely removed. The tribrid felt vulnerable, entirely naked and helpless under her lover, yet the fulfilling warmth in the blonde's eyes made her feel safe and the lust rose all over again. She felt her chest burn and the excitement overpowering her, watching Lizzie getting closer and closer to her source.

"Please." she whispered panting, suppressed like a volcano before the eruption.

Even though Hope's begging was a song to the blonde's ears, she decided not to make her wait any longer. Lizzie's tongue slid against her sensitive skin so effortless, making them both lose their breath for several seconds. After the initial shock, the siphon was the first to regain control over her body and glanced up to see Hope's state as she kept circling the girl's clit and sucking her puddle of fluids. The image of the tribrid's hands grasping at the sheets as she stared at the ceiling, unable control her breathing -or anything at this point, made the blonde smile between the girl's thighs and continue her job much more confident. _God, you're driving me crazy._

Hope felt the girl's tongue torturing her, being dragged from her clit to her entrance and up again, spreading her desire for the siphon everywhere. As the girl's mouth became more possessive, so did Hope's screams and her back arched when Lizzie's fingers came into play. Every thrust was pushing her closer and closer to the edge, her palms started sweating and her legs went numb. 

Lizzie recognized the signs and immediately raised her momentum, her soft moan between the girl's legs being the final straw for Hope. Her orgasm came hard and overwhelming, causing her to bury her skull into the pillow, as her eyes rolled back and her fingers tightened around the cloth of Lizzie's bed linen, screaming louder than ever before.

The siphon waited for the quiver to leave Hope's body, before she cleaned the remains of the girl's relief off her swollen area and then off her own fingers. The tribrid almost passed out, watching the girl looking so satisfied with the taste but then again, she was extremely, running-a-marathon level exhausted. Maybe it was that. Her hands finally relaxed and the rest of the body followed, making her realize that more than exhausted, she was feeling invigorated. The blonde climbed up again, this time to collapse on the bed next to the still-struggling-to-catch-her-breath girl, making sounds of something like panting and chuckling combined. They both turned to glance at each other and seeing the flushed, fulfilled girl, Lizzie wore her most attractive, self-satisfied smile saying;

_"Happy birthday!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year, everyone ;)


End file.
